Sharif Digital Repository

The soil water retention curve (SWRC) or soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) is a fundamental feature of unsaturated soil that simply shows the relationship between soil suction and water content (in terms of the degree of saturation and volumetric or gravimetric water content). In this study, the applications of the SWRC or SWCC have been extensively reviewed, taking about 403 previously published research studies into consideration. This was achieved on the basis of classification-based problems and application-based problems, which solve the widest array of geotechnical engineering problems relevant to and correlating with SWRC geo-structural behavior. At the end of the exercises, the... 

Based on the results of recent studies, comprehensive characterization of the behavior of infilled rock fractures under saturated and unsaturated conditions requires knowledge of morphological details of fracture surface, as well as state of stress of infill materials and their initial innate conditions (e.g., void ratio, water content, degree of saturation and dry density). This paper describes a semi-empirical equation to interpret the effects of wall-roughed nature of the fractures and presence of partially saturated fine materials within the fractures on the behavior of infilled rock fractures during shear. The proposed equation incorporates the soil-water retention curve parameters as... 

A cyclic simple shear device was modified for testing coarse-grained soils at unsaturated conditions. A combined methodology of controlling suction for the practical range of coarse-grained soil water retention curves was adopted. Water head control method was used to accurately control suction within capillary and transition zones of such soils. The axis translation technique, on the other hand, was employed as a complementary approach to reach higher suction values within residual zone. In order to evaluate the performance of the new setup, independent cyclic tests were carried out at various initial suctions including all key points and zones along the primary drying path. The analyses of... 

The existence, nature, and frequency of discontinuities in a given rock mass typically govern the overall shear behavior of the rock. The presence of fine materials such as clay and silt within rock joints, whether the product of infilling or natural weathering processes, can have a significant effect on the shear behavior of the rock joint. When assessing the strength of filled rock joints, it is therefore necessary to determine the separate strengths of both the rock and the joint infill material, and to also have a good understanding of the interaction between the two for various joint geometries and levels of infilling. Much of the existing research on the shear strength of filled rock... 

Dispersive soils, as one of the main categories of problematic soils, can be found in some parts of the earth, such as the eastern-south of Iran, nearby the Gulf of Oman. One of the most important factors enhancing the dispersive potential is the existence of dissolved salts in the soil water. The main objective of this study is to explore the influence of water salinity on the instability of a railway embankment due to rainfall infiltration. In order to achieve this goal, the embankment resting on a dispersive stratum is numerically modeled and subjected to transient infiltration flow. The effect of dispersion is simplified through variations in the soil-water retention curve with salinity.... 

Soil deposits may experience different hydraulic states in terms of suction (φ) and saturation degree (Sr) while being subjected to large strain caused by dynamic loading during earthquakes. This phenomenon was investigated by considering the effects of initial φ, initial (Sr, sample preparation method, drainage condition, and cycle number (N) on dynamic properties. Shear modulus (G) and damping ratio (D) were specifically studied for unsaturated sand using a modified cyclic simple shear device for all zones of Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC). Results revealed the relative significance of both φ and Sr in relation to SWRC on observed trends in G and D. Based on the analysis of some results... 

Slip along fractures or hydrothermal alternation may lead to formation of weak layers of soils intercalated between the existing rock layers. In this situation, characterization of the behavior of rock fractures requires consideration of a complicated interaction of mechanical properties and geometrical characteristics of the fracture, coupled together with the properties of infill materials. Of the most important parameters which may considerably affect the behavior of an infilled fractured rock are the hydraulic properties of the infill material. These properties reflect the water retention ability of the infill material and determine the meniscus arrangements between the particles. This... 

Laboratory investigation on the influence of solute concentration on the soil water-retention curve (SWRC) and volumetric behaviour of expansive soils has received much attention in recent years due to increasing environmental pollution. However, most studies only considered applying wetting or drying path with almost no attention to hydraulic hysteresis. Furthermore, these studies have focused on examining expansive soils and only marginal effort has been devoted to collapsible soils. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to systematically explore the SWRC and shrinkage characteristics of an artificially made collapsible soil at various molar concentrations. The tests were...