Unsaturated Soil

Mechanics in
Engineering
Professor Delwyn G. Fredlund
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK, Canada

GeoFrontiers 2005, Austin, Texas

Geo-Institute, ASCE
January 23-26, 2005
 • Karl Terzaghi elevated Soil
Mechanics from an Art to a
Science
• Effective Stress, (σ – uw), for
describing mechanical behavior
of saturated soils
• Chapter 14 “Capillary Forces”
(Also Chapter 15)
• Biot (1941) addressed
consolidation of unsaturated
soils
• Concepts from Agriculture
(Baver, 1940)
John Wiley &
Sons, 1943
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics Problems
Described in “Theoretical Soil
Mechanics” by K. Terzaghi (1943)
 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in
Engineering

• Introduction
• Challenges to Implementation
• Description of the Stress State
• Fundamental Constitutive Relations
• Role of the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve
• Use of SWCC in the Constitutive Relations
• Solution of a Series of PDEs
• Modeling Unsaturated Soils Problems
 Objectives

• To illustrate the progression from theories and

formulations to practical engineering
protocols for solving a variety of unsaturated
soil mechanics problems (e.g., seepage, shear
strength and volume change), through use of
“direct” and “indirect” characterization of
unsaturated soil property functions

• To describe the Challenges Faced and the

Solutions Generated in moving towards the
Implementation of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
 Gradual Emergence of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
• 1950s: Independent measurement of pore-air and
pore-water pressure through use of high air entry
ceramic disks
• 1960s: Laboratory testing of unsaturated soils
• 1970s: Constitutive relations proposed and tested
for uniqueness for unsaturated soils
• 1980s: Solving formulations for classic Boundary
Value Problems
• 1990s: Establishing procedures for determination of
unsaturated soil property functions
• 2000+: Implementation into routine engineering
practice
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #1:
– To discover appropriate Stress State
Variables for describing the physical
behavior of unsaturated soils
• Solution #1:

?
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #2:
To develop devices that could measure a wide
range of negative pore-water pressures (i.e.,
high matric suctions)
• Solution #2:

?
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #3:
– To develop (and test for uniqueness)
constitutive relations suitable for describing
unsaturated soil behavior
• Solution #3:

?
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #4:
– To overcome the excessive costs
associated with the determination (i.e.,
measurement) of unsaturated soil
properties (i.e., nonlinear functions)
• Solution #4:
?
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #5:
– To solve nonlinear partial differential
equations for unsaturated soils without
having convergence difficulties during the
iterative solution process
• Solution #5:
?
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #6:
– To promote and teach unsaturated soil
mechanics at universities and in
engineering practice
• Solution #6:

?
 Local vertical
zones of
unsaturated soils

Regional distribution
of unsaturated soils
SATURATED

GROUNDWATER TABLE
SOIL

- Water filling the voids

- Air in a dissolved state
 Zones of Unsaturation Defined by a Soil-Water
Characteristic Curve, SWCC

35
(%)
Transition
30 zone
Gravimetric water content, w

25 Air entry Inflection

value point
20
Boundary Residual
15
effect zone
10 zone

5 Residual
condition
0
0.1 1.0 10. 100. 1000. 10,000 100,000 1000,000
Soil suction (kPa)
 Unsaturated Soil REV as a Four Phase System
REV = Representative Elemental Volume -Two Phases that
Air deform and come to
Soil particles rest under a stress
Contractile skin gradient (SOLIDS)
-Soil structure
-Contractile skin
Water -Two phases that
continuously flow
under a stress
gradient (FLUIDS)
-Water
-Air
 Structure and Stresses in the Contractile Skin

thickness of the
Air contractile skin
Water
t90/10 Liquid water density
B
PN

Hyperbolic Tangent Function

Thickness:
1.5 to 2 water molecules or
Water vapor density
about 5°A (Israelachvili, 1991;
Townsend and Rice, 1991)

Surface tension = 75 mN/m; Equivalent stress = 140,000 kPa

Water-molecule distribution across the air-water interface

(modified from Kyklema, 2000)
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #1:
– To discover appropriate Stress State
Variables for describing the physical
behavior of unsaturated soils
(ua - uw) (σy - ua)
• Solution #1: τyz
τyx
– Designation of independent
(ua - uw)
Stress State Variables based τxz
(ua - uw)
(σx - ua)
on multiphase continuum τzx τxy
mechanics principles τzy
(σz - ua)
 Definition of stress state at a point in an
unsaturated soil
(ua - uw) (σy - ua)
• Defines the τyz
stress state at a τyx
point in a
(ua - uw)
continuum
τxz
• State variables (ua - uw)
are independent (σx - ua)
of soil τzx τxy
properties τzy
(σz - ua)

Derivation of the Stress State is based on the superposition of

equilibrium stress fields for a multiphase continuum
 State Variable Stage (Unsaturated Soils)

Net Total Stress Tensor

X - direction ⎡(σx− ua) τ yx τzx ⎤

⎢ τ ⎥
Y - direction
⎢ xy (σy−ua) τzy ⎥
Z - direction ⎢⎣ τ xz τ yz (σz−ua )⎥⎦
• Stress Tensors ⎡(ua − uw) 0 0 ⎤
⎢ ⎥
form the basis for
a Science ⎢ 0 (ua− uw) 0 ⎥
because we live ⎢⎣ 0 0 (ua− uw)⎥⎦
in a 3-D Cartesian
coordinate world Matric Suction Stress Tensor
 Variations in Stress State Description
σ’ = (σ – ua) + χ (ua – uw)
σ’ = effective stress
χ = parameter related to saturation

σ *ij = σij – [S uw + (1 – S) ua ] δ ij
σij = total stress tensor,
δij = Kroneker delta or substitution tensor,
σ *ij = Bishop’s soil skeleton stress (Jommi
2000)
S = degree of saturation

Above proposed equations are constitutive relations

 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics

• Challenge #2:
- To develop devices that can measure a wide
range of negative pore-water pressures (i.e., high
matric suctions)
• Solution #2:
- New instrumentation such as
the high suction tensiometers
and indirect thermal conductivity
suction sensors provide viable
techniques for the laboratory
and the field
 Monitoring for Verification Purposes

• Measurements of movement: same as for saturated

soils
• Measurement of water content: TDR Technology
• Measurement of matric suction:
– Direct measurement techniques
• Low range tensiometers (< 90 kPa)
• High range direct tensiometers (< 1200 kPa)
– Presently primarily for laboratory use
– Indirect measurement techniques
• Thermal conductivity sensors
 Monitoring of Water Content

Measures the dielectric constant

for the soil around the rods.
Dielectric constant varies with the
water content of the soil

TDR ThetaProbe, ML2x manufactured by AT Delta Devices, U.K.

 Monitoring of Matric Suction
Measures the thermal conductivity of a standard ceramic
that varies in water content with the applied matric suction
 In Situ Matric Suction measurements using Thermal
Conductivity sensors at 1.0
Matric Suction Versus Time -to 1.3
1.0 m to 1.3m below
m Depth Range roadway

200.0
T 1-3

175.0 T 2-8 Frost

(kPa)

T 3-11 T 4-14
150.0
Suction (kPa)

T 4-14
T 5-16
125.0
suction

T 5-16

100.0 T 1-3
MatricMatric

75.0

50.0
T 2-8
25.0
T 3-11
Equalization
0.0
15-Sep-00 5-Oct-00 25-Oct-00 14-Nov-00 4-Dec-00 24-Dec-00
Time (Days)
Time (Days)
Direct, high suction sensor used to measure suctions greater than
one atmosphere on the side of a triaxial specimen (Meilani, 2004)

Pore air pressure control

Top cap Silicone rubber grommet
O - ring
Coarse corundum disk Rubber membrane

Filter paper
Latex rubber, to seal the
rubber
membrane and grommet
Mini suction probe

Specimen

O - ring
5 – bar high air-entry ceramic
disk
Water in the compartment is pre-pressurized
to destroy cavitation nuclei
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
• Challenge #3:
– To develop (and test for uniqueness)
constitutive relations suitable for Void
describing unsaturated soil behavior ratio
e
• Solution #3: am
at
- Constitutive relations for
saturated soils needed to
Matric suction
be extended to embrace the ess (ua - uw)
t r
effect of changing degrees m al s
r
t no - u a)
of saturation Ne (σ
 Fundamental Constitutive Relations for
Unsaturated Soils
• Constitutive Behaviors in Classic Soil Mechanics:
– Seepage
– Shear strength
– Volume-mass changes: Void ratio, water content
changes

• Other topics in soil mechanics:

– Heat flow (Freeze-Thaw and Evaporation)
– Air flow
– Contaminant transport

Each constitutive relationship requires a nonlinear soil

property function; therefore, Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
might be referred to as NONLINEAR SOIL MECHANICS!
 Water Seepage Constitutive Relations

uw
h = +Y Driving potential for water flow is
ρwg hydraulic head, h

dh
vx = − k wx Darcy’s law (1856) for flow in the x-,
dx y-, and z-direction
dh
v y = −k wy
dy
Coefficient of permeability, kw is a
dh function of matric suction; therefore,
vz = − k wz the flow law is nonlinear and subject
dz to hysteresis
 Shape of the water permeability function for glass
beads tested by Mualem (1976 )
1.E-01
Coefficient of permeability (m/s)

Drying
1.E-02

1.E-03 Wetting

1.E-04
Drying
Drying
Wetting
Wetting
1.E-05

1.E-06
0.1 1 10
Soil suction
Soil suction (kPa)
(kPa)
 The SWCC for the glass beads showing
hysteresis during drying and wetting
100
Degree of saturation, %
80 Drying

60
Drying Wetting
40 Wetting

20

0
0.1 1 10
Soil
Soil suction
suction(kPa)
(kPa)
Hysteresis in the SWCC produces hysteresis in
the Permeability function
 Water Storage in an Unsaturated Soil

Water content, %
40
Soil-Water Characteristic
30
Curve, SWCC
20

10 Also has a hysteretic effect

0
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1E+6
Soil suction, kPa
modulus, kPa-1

8
Water storage

Water storage function is

4 the slope of the SWCC;
Required for transient
2 seepage analyses
0
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1E+6
Soil suction, kPa
 Air Flow Constitutive Relations

du a Driving potential for air flow is

v ax = −k ax Pore-air pressure, ua
dx

du a Fick’s law for flow in the x-, y-, and

v ay = − k ay z-direction
dy
Coefficient of permeability, ka is a
du a
v az = −k az function of matric suction; therefore,
dz the flow law is nonlinear and subject
to hysteresis

Observation: Soil properties for unsaturated soils become

nonlinear functions and are hysteretic in character
 Shear Strength Constitutive Relations

τ = c + (σ n − ua ) tan φ + (ua − uw ) tan φ

' ' b

Linear form of the extended Mohr-

Coulomb shear strength equation

Fredlund, Morgenstern and Widger, 1978

τ = c + (σ n − ua ) tan φ + (ua − u w ) f1
' '

f1 = function showing the rate of

increase in shear strength with
matric suction
 Extended Mohr-Coulomb failure surface
(Fredlund, Morgenstern and Widger, 1978)

Shear strength versus suction is

nonlinear and affected by hysteresis
(ua-uw)
Shear strength, τ

Air entry
value
φ’

c’
Net normal stress, (σ - ua)
 100

Degree of Saturation, S (%)

AEV = 60 kPa
90
80 Soil-Water
70 0 kPa, e = 0.517
60 Characteristic Curve
50
25 kPa, e =0.514 for glacial till
40
30
OPTIMUM
20 INITIAL WATER CONTENT
10 SPECIMEN
0
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Suction, (kPa)
Shear strength, τ (kPa)

250
(σf - ua)f = 72.6 kPa φ’ = 25.5
200 Multistage direct
150 AEV = 60 kPa shear test results
100 on compacted
(σf - ua)f tan φ’= 34.6 kPa glacial till (Gan et
50
c’ = 10 kPa
0
al., 1988)
0 100 200 300 400 500
Matric suction, (ua-uw) (kPa)
 Reference compression curves for a
Saturated Soil
Cc
λ =
v = (1+e)
Elasto-plastic ≈ 0 . 434 C c
form ln( 10 )
e κ =
Cs
≈ 0 . 434 C s
Yield ln( 10 )
stress
Specific volume

Void ratio
Preconsolidation
pressure
Cs Classic soil
mechanics form
Cc

p0 Ln(p) σ0 Log(σ)
Effective mean
Effective stress
mean stress Effective
Effectivevertical
verticalstress
stress
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Regina Clay
Preconsolidated at 200 kPa (Pham, 2004)

Void ratio, e

2.5

2
Yield 2.5
Yield 2
Void ratio

1.5

1.5

Void ratio
1

0.5 1

0
Residual value 0.5
Lo 0. 01 . 1
g 0 1 0
so 10 0 0
il s .
So uc 10 0
0 0 1
1
0.
1 01
il s
tio
n
1
10 000 10 0 )
uc (k
Pa 00 0 0
1
10 e +0 6 0
10
0
0 s s (kPa
0 tre
tio 1 00 an s
n
) 0
ne t m e
l stress
L o g
Net tota
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Regina Clay
Preconsolidated at 200 kPa (Pham, 2004)
Water content, w
SWCC
0.8 Yield Yield
Gravimetric water content

0.7
0.8
0.6
0.7

Gravimetric water content

0.5
0.6
0.4 Air entry value
0.5
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.1
0
Residual value
Residual value 0.2
0.1
Lo 0 .0 1 .1
gs 0 1 0
oil 10 0.0
su 0.1 1
So ct i 100 0 1
on 100 0 10
10
il s
(kP
a) 1000 000 10 10
00
0
s (kP
a)
uc
100 e+06
1 00
mean
st r es
ess
tio 0
ne t
l str
Log ta
n Net to
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Regina Clay
Preconsolidated at 200 kPa (Pham, 2004)

Void ratio, e

2.5

2
Yield 2.5
Yield 2
Void ratio

1.5

1.5

Void ratio
1

0.5 1

0
Residual value 0.5
Lo 0. 01 . 1
g 0 1 0
so 10 0 0
il s .
So uc 10 0
0 0 1
1
0.
1 01
il s
tio
n
1
10 000 10 0 )
uc (k
Pa 00 0 0
1
10 e +0 6 0
10
0
0 s s (kPa
0 tre
tio 1 00 an s
n
) 0
ne t m e
l stress
L o g
Net tota
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Regina Clay
Preconsolidated at 200 kPa (Pham, 2004)
Water content, w
SWCC
0.8 Yield Yield
Gravimetric water content

0.7
0.8
0.6
0.7

Gravimetric water content

0.5
0.6
0.4 Air entry value
0.5
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.1
0
Residual value
Residual value 0.2
0.1
Lo 0 .0 1 .1
gs 0 1 0
oil 10 0.0
su 0.1 1
So ct i 100 0 1
on 100 0 10
10
il s
(kP
a) 1000 000 10 10
00
0
s (kP
a)
uc
100 e+06
1 00
mean
st r es
ess
tio 0
ne t
l str
Log ta
n Net to
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Regina Clay
Preconsolidated at 200 kPa (Pham, 2004)

Degree of saturation, S
1.25 Air entry value
Degree of saturation (S)

1 1.25

Degree of saturation (S)

0.75 1

0.5
Residual value 0.75

0.25 0.5

0 0.25
Lo 0. 01 . 1
g 0 1 0
so 10 0 0
il s 0. . 01
uc 10 00 1 1
tio 10 10
So n 10 000 0 1
10
Pa )
il su (k 10 000 6 1 000
0 ss ( k
Pa 1e +0 00
n str
e
c ti ) 00
et m
ea
s tre ss
on Lo g n
tota l
Net
 Volume–Mass Water content, w
Constitutive Surfaces for
0.3 AEV
Beaver Creek Sand

Gravimetric water content

0.25 0.3

Gravimetric water content

0.2
(Pham, 2004) 0.15
SWCC
0.25

0.2
0.1 0.15
0.05 0.1
Basic volume-mass equation 0 0.05
Lo 0. 01 . 1
S e = w Gs g
so
il s
0 1
10 0
10 00 0. 0.
01
0
uc 1 1
tio 10 00 10
10
n 10 0000 0 a)
(k 0 6 1 10 0 s (kP
Pa 1 0 0 0 tre s
Void ratio, e ) 1e+ 000 0
Lo g
ne t
mea
n s

0.67
0.62375
Degree of saturation, S
0.67
0.5775
0.62375 1.25
Void ratio (e)

0.53125
0.5775 1 1.25

Degreeof saturation
0.485

Void ratio (e)

0.53125
0.43875 1

Degreeof saturation
0.75
0.485
0.3925 0.75
0.43875 0.5
0.34625
0.3925 0.25 0.5
0.3
0.34625
0. 01 . 1 0 0.25
Lo 0 1
g 0.3 Lo 0. 01
so 10 0. 0 g 0. 1 1 0
il s 1 0 0 0. 1 so
uc 1 10 0 0.
10 1
il
ti o 10 0000 10
su
cti 10 00 1
0.
1 01
n( 00 10 000 10
kP 110 000 0 6 1 10 0 (kPa )
on
10 000 0 10
10
s (k
Pa )
1e +0 0 00 00
0
a)
an s tre ss (k
Pa 10 1e +0 6 100 00
n s tre s
0 et me ) 00 mea
Lo g n Lo g
ne t
Volume–Mass Constitutive Surfaces for Beaver Creek
Sand (Pham, 2004)

Water content, w
0.3
Air entry value
Gravimetric water content

0.25 0.3

Gravimetric water content

0.2 0.25
0.15 0.2
SWCC
0.1 0.15
0.05 Residual value 0.1
0 0.05
Lo 1
0. 0 0. 1
g 1 0
so
il s 10 0 0. 0.0
uc 10 00 1 1
So tio 10 000 1
10 1
il s n
(k 10 000 0
0 6 1 10 00
ss (kPa
)
uc Pa 1
1e +
0 00
0
00
an str
e
tio ) 0
ne t
m e
s tre ss
n Lo g
tota l
Net
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
• Challenge #4:
– To overcome the excessive costs associated with the
determination (i.e., measurement) of unsaturated soil
properties (i.e., nonlinear functions)
• Solution #4: 40
Predicted from grain-size
- Indirect, estimation

Water content
30 Experimental
procedures have been
20
developed to obtain
unsaturated soil property 10

functions based on Soil- 0.0

Water Characteristic 1E-1 1E+0 1E+1 1E+2 1E+3 1E+4 1E+5 1E+6
Suction (kPa)
Curves
 Role and Measurement of the
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve, SWCC
-Soil-Water Characteristic Curves, SWCC define the relationship
between the amount of water in a soil and soil suction (i.e.,
matric suction and total suction)
- SWCC has been successfully used to estimate all unsaturated
soil property functions

Gravimetric water content (%)

20 Air Entry Value
- Water permeability 16 Specimen 1
- Air permeability Specimen 2
12 Specimen 3
- Shear strength
- Thermal flow 8 Sand Residual Value
- Incremental
elasticity 4

0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Soil suction (kPa)

* ASTM Standard D6836-02 (2003)

 Measured drying and wetting curves on
processed silt (Pham, 2002)
Gravimetric water content (%) 25
AEV = 10 kPa
20
WEV = 4.5 kPa
15

Specimen 1
10
Specimen 2 Residual = 120 kPa
Specimen 3
5 Residual = 62 kPa

0
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Soil suction (kPa)
 Pressure Plate Apparatus to Measure Void Ratio and Water
Content While Applying Total Stress and Matric Suction

Manufactured by
GCTS, Tempe, AZ

Air supply

High air
entry disk
 Fifteen bar Pressure
Plate equipment
manufactured by
GCTS, U.S.A.

• Wide range of applied suctions

• Applies total stresses
• Measures water and total
volume change
• Measure diffused air
• Test individual specimens
• Null-type initial suction
• Drying and wetting modes
Gravimetric water content (%)
20

16
Drying
Specimen 1
Equations to Best-Fit
12
Specimen 2
Specimen 3 SWCC Data
8
Wetting Numerous equations have
4
been proposed:
0
0.1 1 10
Soil suction (kPa)
100 1000 -Brooks & Corey (1964)
ws - van Guenuchten (1980)
w (ψ ) = C (ψ ) ×
{ln[ e + (ψ ) n f ]} m f Asymmetry Variable
a f

Rate of desaturation
Correction Factor
Air entry value
ln(1 + ψ ψ = Soil suction
ψr)
C (ψ ) = 1 −
ln[1 + (1000000
ψr) Fredlund and Xing (1994)
Hysteresis in the Soil-Water Characteristic Curve
• Hysteretic SWCC Models will eventually be
available for geotechnical usage
• Presently, the Geotechnical Engineer must decide
which curve to use:
– Select wetting curve or drying curve based on
process being simulated
• Hysteresis loop shift at point of inflection:
– Sands: 0.15 to 0.35 Log cycle
• Average: 0.25 Log cycle
Estimation
– Loam soils: 0.35 to 0.60 Log cycle
Values
• Average: 0.50 Log cycle
 Model measurements of water content and matric suction
showing the SWCC relationship from water contents and
matric suctions during wetting and drying simulations (Tami
et al, 2004)
Section B Section M Section T
Volumetric water content, θw

0.4

0.3 III-D
III-W III-D
IV&V-D III-W
0.2 IV&V-D III-D
I&II-D III-W
I&II-D IV&V-D
0.1
IV&V-W IV&V-W
IV&V-W
I&II-D
0.0
1 10 1 10 1 10
Soil suction (kPa)
Suctions with Tensiometers Water content with TDR
 Approaches that can be used to obtain the
Soil–Water Characteristic curves

Determination of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves, SWCC

Laboratory SWCC SWCC Dataset

measurement of predictions predictions “mining” for
water content from grain from grain size typical SWCC
versus suction size & Atterberg
distribution limits

Pressure Vacuum Numerous Parameters Soils with

plate < desiccators models for similar grain
1500 kPa > 1500 kPa numerous size or soil
models classification

Decreasing accuracy
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve computed
from a Grain Size Distribution Curve
100

Percent passing (%)

80 Experimental
Fit - curve
60
40
20
0
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle size (mm)
40
Predicted from grain-size
Water content

30 Experimental

20

10 Fredlund et al,1997

0.0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 1E+5 1E+6
Suction (kPa)
 Incorporation of SWCC into the Constitutive
Relations for Unsaturated Soils

• Unsaturated soil property functions rely

on the saturated soil properties PLUS the
soil-water characteristic curve, SWCC

• Therefore, MUST have an indication of the

SWCC

• Unsaturated soil property functions

render the solution of a problem nonlinear
 Seepage Constitutive Relations in Terms of SWCC

References for the Soil-Water Characteristic

Permeability Models Curve

kr = kw/ksat van Genuchten (1980) Brooks & Cory

(1964)

1 − (αψ ) n − 2 [1 + (αψ ) n ]− m
kr (ψ ) =
Burdine (1953) [1 + (αψ ) n ]2n kr (ψ ) = (αψ ) −2 − 3λ
2
m =1−
n

{1 − (αψ )n −1[1 + (αψ )n ]− m}2

Mualem (1976) kr (ψ ) =
[1 + (αψ )n ]0.5
1
m = 1−
n
 Seepage Constitutive Relations in Terms of SWCC

References for the Soil-Water Characteristic

Permeability Models Curve

kr = kw/ksat Fedlund and Xing (1994) Campbell (1974)

θ (e y ) − θ (ψ )
b

∫
ln(ψ )
ey
θ ' (e y )dy
ψ − 2−
2
Child and Collis – kr = kr = ( ) b
θ (e y ) − θ s ψ aev
b
George (1950)
∫
ln(ψ aev )
ey
θ ' (e y )dy

b = Ln (1000000) θ (ψ) = Soil water content

y = Dummy variable of integration representing
the logarithm of integration
 Usage of several functions to predict permeability
functions from the SWCC for a particular soil and a
suggested lower limit for the permeability function
1.E-04
Coefficient of permeability (m/s)

1.E-05
Experimental data
1.E-06
1.E-07 Van Genuchten - Mualem
1.E-08 Brooks and
1.E-09 Fredlund and Xing
Corey
1.E-10
Van Genuchten Overall
1.E-11
- Burdine Kw + Kv
1.E-12
1.E-13 Campbell
Vapor
1.E-14 Kv
1.E-15
1.E-16
1.E-17
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1E+06
Soil suction (kPa)
 Shear Strength Constitutive Equation Written in
Terms of SWCC

θ −θr
Vanapalli et al. (1996) Θn = SWCC
θs −θr

τ = c ' + (σ n − u a ) tan φ '+ψ Θ n tan φ '

Shear strength Matric suction

Intercept of the Mohr-
Coulomb failure envelope on Angle of internal friction
the shear stress axis

Net normal stress on the failure plane

 Stress Analysis (for Shear Strength Problems)
Constitutive Relations in Terms of SWCC
θ
Fredlund et al. (1996) Θd = SWCC
θs
κ
τ = c'+(σ n − u a ) tan φ '+ψ (Θ d ) tan φ '
Shear strength Matric suction Angle of
internal
Intercept of the Mohr- friction
Coulomb failure envelope on
the shear stress axis
Fitting parameter used for
net normal stress on the failure plane obtaining a best-fit between the
measured and predicted value
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
• Challenge #5:
– To solve nonlinear partial differential equations for
unsaturated soils without having convergence
difficulties during the iterative solution process
• Solution #5:
– Adaptive mesh (grid) generation techniques in
computer technology facilitates convergence
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
 Solving a Boundary Value Problem
Typical Boundary Conditions

Flux Head - for seepage

Boundary
Force Displacement - for stress

Boundary

Element for which a Partial

Boundary
Differential Equation, PDE,
must be derived
Boundary

Boundary Value Must be Supplied

Utilize general purpose PDE Solvers to solve partial differential

equations for saturated-unsaturated soil system
 Problem Solving Environments, PSEs, for Soil
Mechanics Partial Differential Equations, PDEs

• All classic areas of soil mechanics can be viewed in

terms of the solution of a Partial Differential
Equation
• Water flow through porous soils (Saturated or
Unsaturated)
• Air flow through unsaturated soils
• Stress analysis for slope stability, bearing capacity
and earth pressure
• Stress-Deformation volume change and distortion
– Incremental elasticity
– Elasto-plastic models
 Partial Differential Equation for Saturated-
Unsaturated Water Flow Analysis

Head variable to be solved

w ∂ h
2
∂k ∂h w
w ∂ h
∂k y ∂h
w 2
∂h
kx + + ky
x
+ = − m2 γ w
w

∂x 2
∂x ∂x ∂y 2
∂y ∂y ∂t

Water coefficient of permeability Water storage Time

(function of soil suction) (function of soil suction)
 Partial Differential Equation for Unsaturated
Air Flow Analysis

Pore-air pressure
(primary variable to be solved)

∂ 2ua ∂ 2 u a ∂k a ⎛ ∂u a ⎞ ∂k a ⎛ ∂u a ⎞ ⎛ e w ⎞ ω a g ∂u a
ka + ka + ⎜ ⎟+ ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ = −⎜ S a − u a m2 ⎟
∂x 2
∂y 2
∂x ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ∂y ⎝ ∂y ⎠ ⎝1+ e ⎠ RT ∂t

Air coefficient of permeability Air storage and Time

(function of soil suction) compressibility
(function of soil suction)
 Partial Differential Equation for Saturated-
Unsaturated Stress-Deformation Analysis

∂ ⎡ ∂u ∂v ⎤ ∂ ⎡ ⎛ ∂u ∂v ⎞⎤
⎢ D11 + D12 ⎥ + ⎢ D44 ⎜⎜ + ⎟⎟⎥ = 0 X–
∂x ⎣ ∂x ∂y ⎦ ∂y ⎣ ⎝ ∂y ∂x ⎠⎦

Y–
∂ ⎡ ⎛ ∂u ∂v ⎞ ⎤ ∂ ⎡ ∂u ∂v ⎤
⎢ D44 ⎜ + ⎟ ⎥ + ⎢ D12 + D11 ⎥ + γ t = 0
∂x ⎣ ⎝ ∂y ∂x ⎠ ⎦ ∂y ⎣ ∂x ∂y ⎦
D11, D12, D44 = Combination of E and µ which are function of
soil suction and net total stresses
Stress-deformation analyses have a degrees of freedom in
each of the Cartesian coordinate directions
 Convergence of Nonlinear Partial
Differential Equations

• Convergence is the single most pressing

problem facing modelers
• Most successful solutions have involved
Adaptive Grid Refinement methods, AGR (Oden,
1989; Yeh, 2000)
• Mesh is dynamically upgraded during the
solution based on error estimates
• AGR becomes extremely important when
solving the nonlinear PDEs associated with
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
Two-dimensional seepage analysis through an
earthfill dam with a clay core.

Optimized mesh for saturated-

unsaturated seepage analysis

Equipotential lines
Problem illustrating the solution of a 3-dimensional,
saturated-unsaturated seepage PDE
Optimized, automatically
generated finite element mesh

Modeling of a waste tailings pond

 Stress analysis PDE combined with the Dynamic
Programming procedure to compute the factor of safety

DP Ge ne ra te d
Critic a l S lip S urfa ce
30 FOS = 1.3
Shape and location of the slip
25 surface are a part of the solution
20 DP Search Bounda ry

15

10

0
Finite Ele me nt S he a r S tre ss

0 20 40 60 80
Dista nce
 Prediction of Heave or Collapse of a Soil

• Requires the solution of a saturated-unsaturated

seepage model and a stress-deformation model

Coupled
Uncoupled
Pseudo-coupled

Saturated-Unsaturated Saturated-Unsaturated
Seepage Model Stress-Deformation
Computes changes in Model
matric suction Computes deformations
 Scenario of Edge Lift for a Flexible
Impervious Cover

Boundary conditions and initial conditions must be

specified both seepage and stress-deformation
SVFlux
Infiltration, q
Flexible cover
0
Depth, m

Flux = 0
1 Flux = 0
CL
2
Constant suction = 400 kPa
3
0 3 6 9 12
Distance from centre of cover or slab, m
 Can have one optimized Adaptive Mesh
generated for seepage model and another
for the stress-deformation model
SVFlux
and
SVSolid
Concrete slab
0
Depth, m

1
C
L
2

3
0 3 6 9 12
Distance from center, m
Matric Suction at Ground Surface after One Day of
Infiltration for Various Infiltration Rates

Distance under slab

500
Matric suction, kPa
Initial
400
q = 10 mm/day
300 Specified
zero suction q = 20
200 q = 30
q = 40
100 C
L q = 50
q = 60
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Distance from centre of cover, m
SVFlux
 Vertical Displacements at Ground Surface
after One Day of Infiltration

Distance under slab

25
specified zero suction
20 C
Heave,(mm)

q = 60 mm/day
15

10 q = 50
q = 40
5 q = 30
q = 20
q = 10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Distance from centre of cover, m
SVSolid
 Challenges to the Implementation of
Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
• Challenge #6:
– To promote implementation of unsaturated soil
mechanics into engineering practice
• Solution #6:
- Educational materials
and visualization tools
have been produced to
better teach and
understand unsaturated
soil mechanics
 Concluding Remarks
• Unsaturated Soil Mechanics needs to be first
understood from the standpoint of the Constitutive
equations describing soil behavior
• Constitutive Equations can be written in terms of
the SWCC for the soil which are then known as
Unsaturated Soil Property Functions, USPF
• Direct and Indirect procedures are available for the
assessment of the SWCC
• It is always possible to obtain an estimate of the
required Unsaturated Soil Property Functions for
geotechnical engineering applications
 Karl Terzaghi deserves
credit not only for the
fundamentals of saturated
soil behavior but also for
the fundamentals of
unsaturated soil behavior

Geo-Institute, Austin, Texas

January 23-26, 2005
Thank You