TTE80

ABSTRACT

Partially saturated soils are highly typical nowadays. On these soils lie several buildings, which in order to be raised, the soil mechanical behaviour must be analysed. These soils behave entire differently from regular soils, because they are considered a three-phase system. A characteristic property of these soils is suction, this parameter is of utmost importance in geotechnical engineering because it is directly related to volume, strength and permeability. In addition, the measurement of this parameter can determine the reliability of the works that are in development on these characteristic soils. With this measurement we can generate moisture retention curves, also known as Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) that will allow us to analyse the reaction of these soils to moisture changes.

Keywords: Unsaturated soil, Sucction, SWCC.

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