Retention Curves in Deforming Soils

Abstract

During the determination of the main drying curve, the soil is subjected to high suctions, which induce important volumetric deformations. These volumetric deformations modify the pore size distribution of the sample affecting both the drying and the wetting branch of the retention curves. Although most deformation occurs at drying, this branch is only slightly affected by soil deformation. In contrast, the wetting branch shows important shifting when volume change is considered. A porous-solid model based on the grain and pore size distributions of the soil is coupled with a mechanical model to simulate the soil-water retention curves while the material is deforming.

Keywords: Soil-water retention curves, Suction, Deforming soils, Macropores, Micropores, Coupled models, Effective stresses, Porous models, Hydromechanical coupling, Elastoplasticity, Plastic strains, Pore size distribution, Volumetric strains, Degree of saturation, Unsaturated soils.