Abstract
The main goal of this paper is to present the first results of a study performed to provide insights into the relationship between the hydromechanical stress path experienced by a compacted soil and the modification of its pore space geometry. A new oedometer employing the axis translation technique was used to characterize the hydromechanical behaviour of the tested material. The fabric of the tested samples was determined using the mercury intrusion porosimetry technique under 4 stress levels and two different suctions. From this information, the macro and micropore volume variations were then determined. The results showed that mechanical loading produced a progressive reduction of the macropore volume and a significant increase of the micropore volume beyond a stress of 250 kPa. The obtained results tend to demonstrate that suction strengthens soil fabric, as the initial “double structure” of the tested material was not destroyed in the case of the unsaturated sample by the loading up to 1 000 kPa, whereas, the saturated sample exhibited a more homogenous fabric.
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Cuisinier, O., Laloui, L. (2005). Fabric Evolution of an Unsaturated Compacted Soil during Hydromechanical Loading. In: Schanz, T. (eds) Unsaturated Soils: Experimental Studies. Springer Proceedings in Physics, vol 93. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-26736-0_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-26736-0_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-21121-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-26736-2
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