Experimental Investigation of the Soil-Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) of Expansive Soil: Effects of Sand Content, Initial Saturation, and Initial Dry Unit Weight

Abstract

Soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an essential parameter in unsaturated soil mechanics, and it plays a significant role in geotechnical engineering to enhance theoretical analysis and numerical calculations. This study investigated the effects of key factors, such as the percentage of sand, initial degree of saturation, and initial dry unit weight, on the SWCC of expansive soil by measuring the matric suction using a pressure apparatus method. The empirical equation of SWCC was obtained using the Van Genuchten and Fredlung Xing models, and the processing of experimental data checks the fitting of the two empirical models. The findings revealed that the Fredlung Xing model fit the relationship between matric suction and volumetric water content of expansive soil better than the Van Genuchten model, indicating that the pressure apparatus approach’s experimental data are correct and acceptable. The study also found that the matric suction increased with decreasing percentage of added sand at the same volumetric moisture content, and the increase in initial dry unit weight increased the matric suction, with the water retention capacity decreasing significantly after adding 20% sand. Moreover, as the initial degree of saturation increased, the volumetric water content decreased, and the characteristic curves became identical when the initial saturation degree reached 90%. Finally, to minimize the water retention capacity of expansive soils, the study recommended adding a percentage of sand not less than 30% to the expansive clay sample.

Novel Insights in Soil Mechanics: Integrating Experimental Investigation with Machine Learning for Unconfined Compression Parameter Prediction of Expansive Soil

“…Balancing the sand fraction is critical in engineering applications because it improves soil performance and reduces the negative impacts of cracking in expansive soil [19]. The addition of sand to expansive soils has been extensively investigated by many researchers to determine its effect on the soil parameters [10,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Previous studies have confirmed that increasing the percentage of sand increases the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of expansive soils.…”

“…The Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) is a fundamental relationship between the content of water and soil suction [29] that effectively describes the behavior of unsaturated soils. The retention behavior of soil water can be influenced by various factors, including dry unit weight, degree of saturation, stress conditions, and soil amendments [26,30,31]. The degree of saturation, moisture content, and volumetric water content are terms commonly used to describe the amount of water in the soil.…”