Hydro-Mechanical Properties of an Unsaturated Frictional Material

2.16 Influence of Brooks and Corey parameters α and λ on the shape of the soil-
water characteristic curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.17 Influence of van Genuchten parameters α and n on the shape of the soil-water
characteristic curve (in case m is a function of n) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.18 Influence of van Genuchten parameter m on the shape of the soil-water char-
acteristic curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.19 Influence of Fredlund and Xing parameters α, n and m on the shape of the
soil-water characteristic curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.20 Soil-water characteristic curve including the two points used for estimation of
imbibition curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.21 Estimated drainage soil-water characteristic curve for Hostun sand using the
model by Aubertin et al. (2003) in comparison with experimental results (loose
and dense specimen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.22 Pore spaces and pore water (Zou 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.23 Influence of the parameter αmax on the shape of the soil-water characteristic
curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.24 Influence of the parameter nf0 on the shape of the soil-water characteristic
curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.25 Influence of the parameter ξ on the shape of the soil-water characteristic curve 51
2.26 Influence of the parameter µ on the shape of the soil-water characteristic curve 51
2.27 Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of sand derived from several soil-water
characteristic curve models using statistical models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.28 Vertical stress versus void ratio (left) as well as vertical stress versus vertical
strain curves (right) including loading, unloading and reloading path for Hostun
sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.29 One dimensional compression and rebound results for Hostun sand and appro-
priate regression functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.30 Several cases of bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.31 Capillary meniscus during drainage (left) and imbibition (right) as well as
cementing in partially saturated sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.32 Casagrande’s (1936) and Janbu’s method (1969) for prediction of preconsoli-
dation pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1 Flow chart giving the main steps for developing a process model . . . . . . . . 70
4.1 Modified pressure plate apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2 Cross sectional area of the modified pressure plate apparatus (all dimensions
in mm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.3 Column testing device I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4.4 Set up of column testing device I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80