ECIV 0637 Winter 2019

Geotechnical Engineering Topics

Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

TOPIC 1
INTRODUCTION OF UNSATURATED SOIL
MECHANICS

Liang Cui PhD

Office: AT 5028

liang.cui@lakeheadu.ca

1
2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui
  Role of Climate

 Types of Problems

 Need for Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

 Multiphase System of Soil

 Terminology and definitions

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 2

 Climate plays an important role in determine whether a soil is
saturated or unsaturated.

Figure: Stress distribution during the desiccation of a soil (from Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993)

Pore-water pressure can vary with depth and can take a wide variety of
shapes as a result of environmental changes
2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 3
 Figure: Extremely arid, arid, and semiarid areas of the world [from Meigs (1953) and Dregne (1976)].

• Arid and semi-arid areas: Have a deep GWT

• Soils located above GWT have negative pore-water pressures
• Wetting/drying: Influence engineering properties of soils
2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 4
  Role of Climate

 Types of Problems

 Need for Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

 Multiphase System of Soil

 Terminology and definitions

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 5

  Construction and Operation of a Dam
 Homogeneous dam
 Compacted soil (S approximately 80%)
 Top layer: Pore-air pressure, ua is equal to atmospheric pressure
 Bottom layer: Pore-water pressure, uw is negative (considerably lower than
zero absolute pressure)

Figure: Changes in pore-water and pore-air pressure generated as a result of the placement of fill for a compacted earthfill dam
(from Fredlund & Rahardjo 1993).

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 6

  Construction and Operation of a Dam
 During the stages of construction, some relevant questions are:

• What is the magnitude of the pore-air and pore-water pressure induced in

each layer of fill is placed?

• Is the pore-air pressure is of significance?

• Does an induced pore-air pressure result in an increase or a decrease in the

stability of the dam? Or would the computed factor of safety be conservative if
the pore-air pressures are assumed to be zero?

• Will the pore-air pressures dissipate to atmospheric conditions much faster

than the pore-water pressure can come to the equilibrium?

• What deformations would be anticipated as a result of changes in the total

stress and the dissipation of the induced pore-air and pore-water pressures?

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 7

  Construction and Operation of a Dam

Figure: Typical pore-water and pore-air pressure after partial construction of the dam (from Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993)

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 8

  Construction and Operation of a Dam

• Numbers are pore-water pressures

• Top layers pore-water pressures are decreasing
• Let us say, if the negative pore-water pressure, uw = - 50 kPa, in terms of matric
suction, (ua – uw), which is defined as the difference between pore-air pressure, ua
and pore-water pressure, uw is 50 kPa (i.e., ua = 0 and uw = - 50 kPa)

Note:
Typically, pore-air pressure, ua is equal to atmospheric pressure in unsaturated soils,
which is taken as equal to 0 kPa and all pressures are referenced to this value.

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 9

  Construction and Operation of a Dam

• Numbers are pore-air pressures

• Top layers pore-air pressure is approximately equal to zero
• However, in this case the air pressure are increasing with depth

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 10

  Construction and Operation of a Dam

SOME KEY COMMENTS:

 Lower Negative Pore-water Pressures Matric Suction (is High)

 Lower Negative Pore-water Pressures Coefficient of Permeability, k (is Low)
 Lower Negative Pore-water Pressures Shear Strength, τf (is High)
 Lower Negative Pore-water Pressures Volume Change, ΔV (is High)

• Note: Negative Pore-water Pressure does not always make positive contribution
(e.g., drying induced shrinkage and cracks)

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 11

  Slope Stability Problems

 Slopes are subjected to a continuously

changing environment

 Potential failure surface may lie above

the water table

Questions of Interest:
• Variation of Pore pressure?
Figure: An example of the effect of excavations on a
natural slope subjected to environmental changes (from • Variation of Factor of safety?
Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993)

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 12

  Lateral Earth Pressures

 Earth pressures calculated using saturated

soil mechanics principles (in most cases it is
not correct)

 Many problems are not addressed in the

design of structures and foundations.

Questions of Interest: Figure: Lateral earth pressures against a retaining wall as

water infiltrates the compacted backfill (from Fredlund &
• Magnitude of lateral earth pressure? Rahardjo, 1993)

• Relationship between swelling pressure and lateral earth pressure upon

wetting process?
2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 13
  Bearing capacity for shallow foundation

Figure: Illustration of bearing capacity conditions for a light structure placed on soils with negative pore-
water pressure (from Fredlund & Rahardjo, 1993)

 Comment on what is being practiced (based on the figure). Are the

present procedures correct?

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 14

  Unsaturated soils:

 Compacted soils, residual soils, collapsing soils, expansive soils …

(On a rational basis all these soils are unsaturated soils)

(Source: Adem and Vanapalli 2016)

 Attempts were made to extend saturated soil mechanics to embrace

unsaturated soils (i.e., to explain the behavior of unsaturated soil in terms of
(σ – uw). (???)
2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 15
  Role of Climate

 Types of Problems

 Need for Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

 Multiphase System of Soil

 Terminology and definitions

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 16

 Phase: An independent phase should satisfy the following two criteria

 Differing properties from contiguous materials, and

 Definite boundary surfaces.

soil, air, and water: satisfy the criteria of independent phases.

 Saturated soil has two phases: soil solids and water

 Unsaturated soil three phases: soil solids, water and air

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 17

  Phase can change state:
 when water freezes it becomes ice (Ice is an independent phase from water).
 Water evaporation (water vapor is an independent phase from water)

(Source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/969370) Source: https://www.aquajardin.net/dos_perte_deau.htm

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 18

  Special phase: air-water interface (a.k.a. contractile skin)

 The most distinctive property of the air-water interface is its ability

to exert a tensile pull.

(Source: https://newatlas.com/water-strider-robot/23493/) (Source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/299630181439303801/)

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 19

  An unsaturated soil can be visualized as a mixture with two
phases that come equilibrium under applied stress gradients
(i.e., soil particles and contractile skin) and two phases that flow
under stress gradients (air and water).

 Contractile skin is considered as part of the water phase without

significant error.

 Unsaturated soil three phases: soil solids, water and air

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 20

  Role of Climate

 Types of Problems

 Need for Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

 Multiphase System of Soil

 Terminology and definitions

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 21

  Mechanics of unsaturated soils: extending continuum mechanics

 Continuum mechanics: Macroscopic and phenomenological

approach

(Source: http://www.continuummechanics.org/images/stress/stress_in_a_continuum.svg)

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 22

  State: nonmaterial variables required for the characterization of a
system (typical state variables: stress, strain, geometry)

 Stress state variables: nonmaterial variables required for the

characterization of the stress condition (i.e., the stress must be
independent on the material properties).

 Deformation state variables: nonmaterial variables required for

the characterization of deformation conditions.

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 23

  Constitutive relations: Single-valued equations expressing the
relationship between state variables.

Constitutive relation State variable Material properties

Shear strength  f  c    tan    f and   c and  

Stress-strain relation   E  and  E
Darcy’s law v  ki v and i k

2019 Winter, ECIV 0637, L. Cui 24