Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688

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Computers and Geotechnics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compgeo

Effect of degree of saturation on mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils

and its elastoplastic simulation
De’an Sun *, Wenjing Sun, Li Xiang
Department of Civil Engineering, Shanghai University, 149 Yanchang Road, Shanghai 200072, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The two stress-state variable approach has been widely used in interpreting unsaturated soil behaviour.
Received 27 September 2008 However this approach cannot take into account the effect of degree of saturation or water contents on
Received in revised form 17 April 2010 the stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils. The triaxial test results presented in this
Accepted 17 April 2010
paper show that even if the same path of net stress and suction is followed, the stress–strain relation
Available online 14 May 2010
and strength are different due to different degrees of saturation. When other conditions are the same,
the higher the degree of saturation for the soil sample is, the higher the stress ratio corresponding to a
Keywords:
given axial strain will be. This effect can be modeled by using an elasto-plastic constitutive model cou-
Unsaturated soils
Stress-state variable
pling hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils. Comparisons between the predicted
Degree of saturation and measured results are presented, which demonstrate that the model can quantitatively simulate
Triaxial test the influence of the degree of saturation on stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils.
Elasto-plastic model Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Stress–strain behaviour
Coupled model

1. Introduction nomenon of unsaturated soils. Subsequently several elasto-plastic

Bishop [2] proposed a well known effective stress expression for
unsaturated soils extending Terzaghi’s effective stress principle for
saturated soil. In Bishop’s expression, a concept of the equivalent
pore pressure was introduced to consider the influence of the
pore-air pressure ua and pore-water pressure uw on the stress–
strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils. Jennings and
Burland [9] indicated that the effective stress proposed by Bishop
could not explain the collapse phenomenon induced by wetting
of unsaturated soils. So the stress–strain behaviour and strength
of unsaturated soils could not be described accurately by only
the effective stress.
Fredlund and Morgenstern [5] demonstrated that the net stress
(the difference between total stress and pore-air pressure) and the
suction (the difference between pore-air pressure and pore-water
pressure) could be considered as two stress-state variables to con-
trol the mechanical response of unsaturated soils. Since then, a
number of non-linear elastic constitutive models have been devel-
oped based on this double stress-state variables theory (e.g.,
[6,11]). In 1990, an elasto-plastic model for unsaturated soils using
the net stress and suction as stress-state variables was proposed by
Alonso et al. [1]. The novelty in this model is the concept of the
loading-collapse yield curve which can predict the collapse phe-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 21 56334259; fax: +86 21 56332265.
E-mail address: sundean@hotmail.com (D.A. Sun).
constitutive models for unsaturated soils have been developed
which are based on experimental and theoretical studies
[4,10,21]. Sun et al. [14] proposed a three-dimensional elasto-plas-
tic constitutive model for unsaturated soils and used the experi-
mental results obtained from a series of suction-controlled
triaxial compression and extension tests to verify the model, which
could indeed reproduce the mechanical behaviour of the soil
including collapse deformation under a three-dimension stress
state.
The above mentioned elasto-plastic constitutive models for
unsaturated soils with two stress-state variables are limited to
the prediction of the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils.
They did not take into account directly the effect of degree of sat-
uration or water content on the stress–strain behaviour and
strength of unsaturated soils. In fact, the hydraulic (e.g., degree
of saturation) and mechanical (e.g., deformation and strength)
changes take place simultaneously in unsaturated soils under
external forces. Therefore, the current elasto-plastic constitutive
model and soil–water characteristic curve model cannot predict
simultaneously the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsat-
urated soils.
In recent years, a small number of researchers have started to
propose constitutive models to predict the hydraulic and mechan-
ical behaviour of unsaturated soils using the elasto-plasticity
approach [7,12,13,19,20]. However, most of these models are
formulated merely for isotropic stress conditions and can only

0266-352X/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compgeo.2010.04.006
 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688
describe qualitatively the hydraulic and stress–strain behaviour.
Recently, Sun and Sheng [16] and Sun et al. [17] have proposed
an elasto-plastic constitutive model coupling the hydraulic and
mechanical behaviour under isotropic and triaxial stress condi-
tions and used the experimental results obtained from suction-
controlled isotropic and triaxial compression tests to verify the
model.
This paper presents firstly the results of triaxial tests on unsat-
urated compacted specimens with different initial water contents
under the same loading (net stress and suction) path, to demon-
strate the effect of degree of saturation on the stress–strain behav-
iour and strength of unsaturated soils. Secondly, the elasto-plastic
model coupling hydraulic and mechanical behaviour proposed by
Sun and Sheng [16] and Sun et al. [17] is reviewed briefly. Finally,
the model is used to predict the hydraulic and stress–strain behav-
iour of unsaturated compacted soils with different initial degrees
of saturation before compression and shearing. The results indicate
that the model can predict well the effect of the degree of satura-
tion on the stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated
soils.
2. Triaxial testing program
A triaxial testing program is designed with the main objective
to investigate the influence of the degree of saturation on the
mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils.
2.1. Triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soils
Fig. 1 shows schematically the triaxial apparatus used in this re-
search. The triaxial apparatus can control and measure the matric
suction s by using the axis-translation technique. The radial dis-
placement of the specimens is measured using three rings made
of bronze mounted at H/4, H/2 and H from the top of the specimen,
where H is the height of the specimen [15]. One of these rings was
put near the bottom of the specimen because the radial displace-
ment at H was not completely zero although there is friction be-
tween the specimen and pedestal. The specimen radial strain can
be calculated from the measured radial displacement, using the
Fig. 1. Triaxial apparatus for testing unsaturated soils.
679
assumption that the lateral shape is approximated by a third-order
polynomial.
The pore-water pressure is maintained at atmospheric pressure
during the constant suction and wetting tests through a ceramic
disk installed in the pedestal with an air-entry value of 300 kPa.
The pore-air pressure is applied at the top cap through a polyflon
filter that can prevent water within specimens from seeping out
of the upper porous stone. Hence, the change in the water volume
in the burette is the same as the change in the water volume of the
tested specimen, thus allowing the degree of saturation to be mea-
sured. More details can be found in Sun et al. [15].
2.2. Testing material and specimen preparation
The soil used in this study is called Pearl clay. It consists of 50%
silt and 50% clay with the grain diameter less than 5 lm, and has a
liquid limit of 49%, a plasticity index of 22% and a specific gravity of
2.71. The composition of the clay, as determined using X-ray dif-
fraction, is quartz, pyrophyllite, and kaolinite in order of domi-
nance. There are few expansive clay minerals in Pearl clay. The
soil was firstly air-dried and then mixed with the required amount
of water to reach the specified water content. The soil sample was
kept in polyethylene bags and stored in a constant temperature
and humidity room for several days to reach equalization. Triaxial
specimens, 35 mm in diameter and 80 mm high, were prepared by
compaction in a steel mold. Specimens were compacted in five lay-
ers, and each layer was statically compacted using a 12 mm diam-
eter plunger up to a vertical stress of 300 kPa. The number of blows
per layer varying from 12 to 18 resulted in a void ratio ranging
from 1.20 to 1.31. The initial state of four specimens after compac-
tion is summarised in Table 1. A detailed description of the com-
paction procedure and the compaction curves can be found in
Sun et al. [18]. All the tested specimens are on the dry side of
the optimum and the water content was about 8–10% less than
the optimum value. The initial suction was about 110 kPa. The ini-
tial suction was measured by the pore-water pressure transducer
with an applied pore-air pressure of 100 kPa under undrained
condition.
2.3. Testing procedures
A total of four isotropic and triaxial compression tests were per-
formed on unsaturated compacted specimens. Two of them were
performed at a constant suction of 100 kPa, and the other two at
a suction of 150 kPa. The stress paths imposed on the four speci-
mens are shown in Fig. 2 – in which point A represents the initial
state of four specimens, and p and q are the mean net stress and the
deviator stress respectively. To investigate the influence of degree
of saturation on the stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsat-
urated soils, the following two stress paths were applied during the
tests: (i) a suction of 100 kPa or 150 kPa was imposed directly on
specimens under the isotropic net stress of 20 kPa (Test 1 and Test
2); and (ii) after the suction of 100 kPa was firstly applied on the
two specimens under the isotropic net stress of 20 kPa, the isotro-
pic net stress was increased to 50 kPa under constant suction, and
then the specimens were wetted by decreasing the imposed suc-
tion step by step from 100 kPa to 0 kPa under the isotropic net
stress of 50 kPa. Finally the imposed suction was increased, always
under an isotropic net stress of 50 kPa, to 100 kPa or 150 kPa for
the two specimens respectively (Test 3 and Test 4). After complet-
ing the above paths the four specimens were all compressed to a
mean net stress of 200 kPa step by step under constant suctions.
Finally specimens were sheared to failure under mean net stress
of 200 kPa and suction of 100 kPa or 150 kPa in triaxial compres-
sion stress. The stress–strain relation and the change in water con-
tent were recorded throughout the above procedure. The degrees
680 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688

Table 1
Initial state of specimens after compaction.

Initial water content w0 (%) Dry density after compaction qd0 (g/cm3) Void ratio after compaction e0 Initial degree of saturation Sr0 (%)
Test 1 25.5 1.230 1.20 57.4
Test 2 25.8 1.196 1.27 55.0
Test 3 25.8 1.199 1.26 55.6
Test 4 24.3 1.169 1.31 50.1

Fig. 2. Stress path: (a) in p  q  s space and (b) in p  s plane.

of saturation in Test 3 and Test 4 experiencing the wetting process 100

are different with those in Test 1 and Test 2. Thus, the stress–strain a
behaviour and strength of unsaturated soils can be compared at 90 E
different degrees of saturation along the same stress and suction Drying
80 D'
paths.
Sr(%)

Wetting F'
70
2.4. Test results
Test 1 A1 F
60
Test 4
Figs. 3 and 4 show the variations in the degree of saturation and D
void ratio from the initial state (i. e., after compaction, point A in 50 B' A4
Fig. 2), to the same state point of four tests with isotropic net stress
of 50 kPa and suction of 100 kPa (point D or D0 in Fig. 2) or 150 kPa 40 1 5 10 50 100
(point F or F0 in Fig. 2). Points A1, A2, A3, and A4 denote the initial s(kPa)
states of the specimens for Test 1, Teat 2, Test 3 and Test 4 respec-
tively. The degrees of saturation at point D0 and F0 in Test 3 and Test 100
4 which experienced the wetting–drying process are obviously b
higher than those at points F and D in Test 1 and Test 2, respec- 90 E
tively. From Fig. 4, it can be seen that void ratio at point F of Test Drying
1 is almost the same as that at point F0 of Test 4 (see Fig. 4a) while 80
Sr(%)

Wetting
void ratio at point D of Test 2 is a little greater than that at point D0 D'
of Test 3 (see Fig. 4b). Thus, tests on the specimens with almost the
70
same void ratio and different degrees of saturation are conducted
by imposing the same loading path of net stress and suction, to
60 Test 2 D
investigate the influence of the degree of saturation on the
Test 3 B' A2
stress–strain relation and strength of unsaturated soils. A3
Figs. 5 and 6 show the variations in degree of saturation and 50
1 5 10 50 100
void ratio respectively during isotropic compression (net stress in-
s(kPa)
creases from 50 kPa to 200 kPa) under a constant suction of
100 kPa or 150 kPa. As can be seen from Fig. 5, the degree of satu- Fig. 3. Variations in suction and degree of saturation from initial to (a) point F and
ration increases with the mean net stress during isotropic com- F0 and (b) point D and D0 in Fig. 2.
pression even under a constant suction. From Fig. 6 it can be
seen that the void ratios in Test 2 and Test 3 are quite close under
a net stress of 200 kPa and suction of 100 kPa (Fig. 6a), and the void stress of 200 kPa and a constant suction of 100 kPa (Fig. 7) and
ratios in Test 1 and Test 4 are almost the same under a net stress of 150 kPa (Fig. 8) respectively. It can be seen that the higher the sat-
200 kPa and suction of 150 kPa (Fig. 6b). uration degree, the higher the stress ratio corresponding to a given
Figs. 7 and 8 show the stress–strain behaviour and variations in axial strain and the higher strength when other conditions are the
degree of saturation during shearing under a constant mean net same. This clearly illustrates that in addition to suction, the degree
 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688 681

1.35 80
a
Wetting B' A4
1.3 D' Test 3 C'
D
1.25 70
Test 1

Sr(%)
e

E Test 4
1.2
A1 B C'
60 Test 2
1.15 Drying F
F' D

1.1 (a) s=100kPa

0 100 200
50
s(kPa) 0 100 200
p(kPa)
1.3
b
A2 70
1.25 A3 Test 4
Wetting B'
C
D F'
1.2 E
C
e

Test 1

Sr(%)
D' 60 F
Drying
1.15
Test 2
Test 3
1.1 (b) s=150kPa
0 100 200
s(kPa) 50
0 100 200
0 0
Fig. 4. Variation in void ratio from initial to (a) point F and F and (b) point D and D
in Fig. 2. p(kPa)
Fig. 5. Variations in degree of saturation during isotropic compression under
constant suction.
of saturation also affects the stress–strain relation and strength of
unsaturated soils.
These triaxial test results indicate that specimens with different ous throughout the voids. In the following, the model is briefly re-
degrees of saturation have different stress–strain behaviour and viewed for predicting the above test results.
strength along the same loading paths of net stress and suction.
When other conditions are the same, the higher the saturation de- 3.1. Stress-state variables for unsaturated soils
gree of the specimen, the higher the stress ratio corresponding to a
given axial strain and strength will be. Therefore, the stress–strain To identify the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsatu-
relation and strength of unsaturated soils cannot be predicted just rated soils properly, the stress-state variables employed in the
using the net stress and suction as the stress-state variables with- model are the ‘average skeleton stress’ tensor r0ij and the suction
out the degree of saturation being considered. The constitutive s, and the strain state variables are the soil skeleton strain tensor
model for unsaturated soils should take into account the effects eij and the degree of saturation Sr. The ‘average skeleton stress’ ten-
of not only suction but also degree of saturation. Neither non-lin- sor r0ij is defined by
ear elastic models (e.g. [6]) nor elasto-plastic models (e.g. [1]), for-
mulated in terms of net stress and suction, can reflect the
r0ij ¼ rij  ua dij þ Sr sdij ð1Þ
difference in the stress–strain relation and strength of unsaturated
where rij is the total stress tensor, Sr is the degree of saturation, ua is
soils due to the different degrees of saturation. However, more re-
the pore-air pressure, and dij is the Kronecker delta. Eq. (1) is similar
cent elasto-plastic constitutive models coupling the hydraulic and
to the effective stress proposed by Bishop and Blight [3], with Sr tak-
mechanical behaviour can reflect the influence of the saturation
ing the place of the weighting factor v. The ‘average skeleton stress’
degree on the stress–strain behaviour and strength of unsaturated
automatically becomes Terzaghi’s effective stress for the saturated
soils by using the ‘average skeleton stress’ and suction as stress-
state.
state variables [13,16,20].

3.2. Water-retention behaviour

3. Hydro-mechanical elasto-plastic model
A hydro-mechanical elasto-plastic constitutive model for unsat-
urated soils has been proposed by Sun and Sheng [16] and Sun
et al. [17]. The model incorporates the influence of the degree of
saturation on the stress–strain relation and strength, and the influ-
ence of deformation on water-retention behaviour. It is applicable
to unsaturated soils in which pore-air and pore-water are continu-
In order to identify the water-retention behaviour of unsatu-
rated soils, it necessary to know what factors affect mainly the
behaviour for a given soil. Fig. 9 shows some measured soil–water
characteristic curves obtained by wetting tests on unsaturated
compacted soils at almost the same density but different stress
states for each figure [18]. In Fig. 9, e0 and eb are the void ratios
at the state immediately after compaction (and before application
682 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688

1.3
5 σ 1/σ 3
Test 4
D
1.2 3 p=200kPa
D' Test 1 s=150kPa
e

C' -10 ε 3(%) 1 10 ε 1(%) 20

1.1 (a) s=100kPa 0
Test 2 ε v(%) 5
Test 3
1 102

50 100 200 75
p(kPa)

1.2 Test 4
70
F

Sr(%)
1.15
F'
Test 1
65
e

1.1
C
(b) s=150kPa
1.05 Test 1 60
Test 4 0 10 20
ε1 (%)
1
50 100 200 Fig. 8. Stress–strain behaviour and variation in degree of saturation during
p(kPa) shearing under constant suction (p = 200 kPa, s = 150 kPa) with different initial
degrees of saturation.
Fig. 6. Variation in void ratio during isotropic compression under constant suction.

tively. It can be concluded from Fig. 9 that the soil–water charac-

σ 1/σ 3
teristic curve is dependent on the density and is indirectly
4 dependent on the stress state for a given soil. Thus, the void ratio
Test 3
should be considered in mathematical modeling of the soil–water
3 characteristic curve, in addition to the wetting process or drying
p=200kPa process. The soil–water characteristic relationship can be simply
Test 2 s=100kPa idealized as shown in Fig. 10.
2
The main drying and main wetting equations of the soil–water
ε 3(%) ε 1(%)
-10 -5 1 5 10 15 characteristic relationship are expressed respectively by

Sr ¼ S0rd ðeÞ  ksr ln s main drying

ε v(%) ð2Þ
5 Sr ¼ S0rw ðeÞ  ksr ln s main wetting

while a scanning curve is given as:

80
Test 3 Sr ¼ S0rs ðeÞ  js ln s ð3Þ

In these equations, ksr and js are the slopes of the main drying (or
wetting) curve and the scanning curve respectively; S0rd ðeÞ and
Sr(%)

70
S0rw ðeÞ are the degrees of saturation respectively on the main drying
and main wetting curves when s = 1, and are a function of the void
Test 2 ratio e, S0rs ðeÞ is the degree of saturation on the specific scanning
60 curve when s = 1, and is also a function of the void ratio e. The val-
ues of S0rd ðeÞ, S0rw ðeÞ and S0rs ðeÞ will depend on the void ratio and the
0 5 10 15 unit chosen for the suction measurement. Throughout this paper it
ε1 (%) is assumed that the unit of suction is kilopascal (kPa).
According to the results of isotropic compression tests and tri-
Fig. 7. Stress–strain behaviour and variation in degree of saturation during axial tests on unsaturated soils under constant suction, the void ra-
shearing under constant suction (p = 200 kPa, s = 100 kPa) with different initial tio versus degree of saturation relation under constant suction can
degrees of saturation.
be approximated by Sun et al. [17]:
0
dSri ðeÞ ¼ kse de; i ¼ d; w; s ð4Þ
of external stress) and at the beginning of the wetting tests respec-
tively, R is the principal stress ratio (=r1/r3) in triaxial tests, Comp where kse is the slope of the Sr  e curve under constant suction lar-
and Ext denote triaxial compression and extension tests respec- ger than the air-entry value. kse may be dependent on suction [8],
 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688 683

100 ds
dSr ¼ kse de  js ð6Þ
e0 eb R s
1.17 1.06 1.0 The above equations define the incremental water-retention behav-
90 1.15 1.03 1.5 Comp
iour of unsaturated soils. In order to express the soil water charac-
teristic curve simply, Eqs. (5) and (6) can be written as
80
ds
Sr(%)

dSr ¼ kse de  b ð7Þ

s
70
where

60 js for the scanning curve
b¼ ð8Þ
(a) e ba=1.04 ksr for the main wetting or drying curve
s(kPa)
50
0 100 200
3.3. The constitutive model for isotropic stress states
100
e0 eb R
1.28 1.12 2.0 Comp A so-called ‘loading-collapse’ (LC) yield curve in the p0  s plane
90 1.21 1.10 2.0 Comp under an isotropic stress state is adopted in the following equation
1.21 1.12 2.0 Ext  kð0Þ j
p0y kðsÞj
80 p0y ¼ p0n ð9Þ
p0n
Sr(%)

70 where p0y and p0y are the yield stresses for saturated soil and unsat-
urated soils with suction s respectively (see Fig. 11); p0n is an isotro-
pic stress at which no collapse occurs when the suction is
60 decreased; j is the swelling index in the e  ln p0 plane; and kð0Þ
(b)e ba=1.11 and kðsÞ are the slopes of the normal compression lines of the satu-
s(kPa)
50 rated soil and the unsaturated soil with suction s in the e  ln p0
0 100 200 plane. Although the constant suction normal compression lines
100 are not straight lines over the entire stress range in the e  ln p0
e0 eb R
1.28 1.18 1.0 plane, they can be assumed to be linear over a limited stress range.
90 1.42 1.20 1.5 Comp The quantity kðsÞ is assumed as:
1.31 1.16 1.5 Ext
ks s
kðsÞ ¼ kð0Þ þ ð10Þ
80 pa þ s
Sr(%)

where ks is a material parameter for identifying the change of kðsÞ

70 with suction s.
From Eq. (9) we have

60 0 @p0y @p0y
dpy ¼ dp0y þ ds ð11Þ
(c) e ba=1.18 @p0y @s
s(kPa)
50 where
0 100 200
 kð0ÞkðsÞ
Fig. 9. Soil–water characteristic at similar densities but different stress states [18]. @p0y kð0Þ  j p0y kðsÞj
¼ ð12Þ
@p0y kðsÞ  j p0n
!
@p0y ks p0y pa ðkð0Þ  jÞ p0n
¼ 2 2
ln ð13Þ
@s ðkðsÞ  jÞ ðpa þ sÞ p0y
Sr 1
λ sr
λ sr
1
Wetting Drying
s E
κs p'y
e1
e2 e1>e2 A B
SI (s=sI)

ln s
Fig. 10. Soil–water characteristic model at different void ratios.
LC yield curve
SD(s=sD)
D C
and but is here assumed to be a constant for simplicity. Differenti-
ating Eqs. (2) and (3) and then combining them with Eq. (4) lead to:
0 p0y F p'
ds
dSr ¼ kse de  ksr ð5Þ
s Fig. 11. LC, SI and SD yield curves for isotropic stress states.
684 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688

When the stress state is inside the LC yield curve, the elastic volu- where
metric strain increment is given by
kse sfkð0Þ  jg
A¼ ð23Þ
e j dp0 @p0
p0y @p0yy
dev ¼ ð14Þ
ð1 þ eÞp0
The stress paths in the predictions of the ordinary unsaturated @p0y
B ¼ Sr  b  A ð24Þ
soil tests are specified in terms of net stress and suction. Incre- @s
ments in p0 are given by differentiating Eq. (1) according to From Eq. (22),
0
dp ¼ dp þ Sr ds þ s dSr ð15Þ dpy þ B ds
0
dpy ¼ ð25Þ
where p is the mean net stress. Substituting Eqs. (7) and (14) into 1  A  ksep0sj
y
Eq. (15) gives
  When the deformation is elastoplastic, the increment in void ratio
0 ds can be calculated by Eqs. (14) and (20) with Eq. (25) using the incre-
dp ¼ dp þ Sr ds þ s kse de  b
s ment in the net stress and suction, and the increment in the degree
0
kse js dp of saturation can be calculated by Eq. (21), i.e.
¼ dp þ ðSr  bÞds þ ð16Þ
p0 0
dSr ¼ ðdpy  dpy  Sr dsÞ=s ð26Þ
Rearranging Eq. (16) gives
In addition to the LC yield curve, two more yield curves are used
0 dp þ ðSr  bÞds to model hydraulic hysteresis as an elasto-plastic process, as
dp ¼ ð17Þ
1  ksepj0 s shown in Fig. 11. The water-retention behaviour shown in Fig. 11
is represented by a suction increase (SI) yield curve and a suction
When the deformation is elastic, the increment in void ratio can be decrease (SD) yield curve in the p0  s plane. When the suction
calculated by Eq. (14) with Eq. (17) using the increment in the net changes during a drying (s P sI) or wetting (s 6 sD) process, the
stress and suction, and the increment in the degree of saturation degree of saturation increment is given by Eq. (5); otherwise, the
can be calculated by Eq. (15), i.e. degree of saturation increment is given by Eq. (6). Therefore,
0
dSr ¼ ðdp  dp  Sr dsÞ=s ð18Þ according to the relation between the stress state (p0 and s) and
the yield curves (LC, SI and SD), different equations must be used
When the stress state is on the LC yield curve, the plastic volu- to calculate the strains and the degree of saturation. When
metric strain increment is given by dp0y > 0 and s > sI or s < sD, the volumetric strains and the degree
of saturation are calculated by Eqs. (14), (19), and (5). When
ðkð0Þ  jÞdp0y dp0y > 0 and sD 6 s 6 sI, they are calculated by Eqs. (14), (19), and
depv ¼ ð19Þ
ð1 þ eÞp0y (6). When dp0y = 0, and s > sI or s < sD, the volumetric strain and
the degree of saturation are calculated by Eqs. (14) and (5). When
or, from Eq. (11),
dp0y = 0 and sD 6 s 6 sI, they are calculated by Eqs. (14) and (6).
 , 0
p kð0Þ  j 0 @p0y @py 3.4. The constitutive model under axi-symmetric stress states
dev ¼ dpy  ds ð20Þ
ð1 þ eÞp0y @s @p0y
The elliptical shape is adopted as a yield curve in the p0  q
The stress paths in the predictions of the ordinary unsaturated plane. Assuming an associated flow rule, the yield function (f)
soil tests are specified in terms of net stress and suction. During and the plastic potential function (g) are proposed to have the fol-
the elastoplastic deformation the increments in p0y are given by dif- lowing form:
ferentiating Eq. (1) according to
f ¼ g ¼ q2 þ M 2 p0 ðp0  p0y Þ ¼ 0 ð27Þ
0
dpy ¼ dpy þ Sr ds þ s dSr ð21Þ

where py is the isotropic net stress in the elastoplastic range. Substi-

tuting Eqs. (7), (14), and (20) into Eq. (21) gives

0
dpy ¼ dpy þ ðSr  bÞds  kse s de
¼ dpy þ ðSr  bÞds þ kse sð1 þ eÞðdeev þ depv Þ
kse sj 0
¼ dpy þ ðSr  bÞds þ dpy
p0y
 , 0
kse sfkð0Þ  jg 0 @p0y @py
þ dpy  ds
p0y @s @p0y
2 3
@p0
kse sfkð0Þ  jg @sy
¼ dpy þ 4Sr  b  @p0
5ds
p0y @p y
0y
8 9 !
<kð0Þ  j j = kse sj
0 0
þ kse s þ dp ¼ dp y þ B ds þ A þ dpy
: p @p0y p0y ; y p0y
0y @p0y

ð22Þ Fig. 12. Yield surface in p0  q  s space.

 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688 685

where M is the slope of the critical line in the p0  q plane and q is 100
the deviatoric net stress. Fig. 12 shows the geometrical shape of the E a
yield function in the p0  q  s space. 90
The associated flow rule is obeyed in the ‘average skeleton
80 Drying
stress’ space; that is D'

Sr (%)
@f 70 Wetting
depij ¼ K ð28Þ
@ r0ij F'
60 A1 F
where the proportionality constant K can be determined from the
D B
consistency condition. Eq. (27) can be rewritten as 50 Meas. Pred.
Test 1 B' A4
f ¼ f ðp0 ; q; p0y Þ ¼ 0; leading to: Test 4
40
@f 0 @f @f 0 1 5 10 50 100
df ¼ dp þ dq þ 0 dpy ¼ 0 ð29Þ
@p0 @q @py s(kPa)

The stress paths in the predictions of ordinary triaxial tests on 100

unsaturated soils are specified in terms of net stress and suction. Drying b
Increments in p0 are given by differentiating Eq. (1) according to 90 E
0
dp ¼ dp þ Sr ds þ s dSr ð30Þ
80

Sr(%)
Wetting
where p is the mean net stress in the elastoplastic range. Substitut-
D'
ing Eqs. (7), (14), and (20) into Eq. (30) gives 70
0
dp ¼ dp þ ðSr  bÞds  kse s de
60 Meas. Pred. D
¼ dp þ ðSr  bÞds þ kse sð1 þ eÞðdeev þ depv Þ Test 2 A3
B' A2
kse sj 0 Test 3
¼ dp þ ðSr  bÞds þ 0 dp 50
p 1 5 10 50 100
 , 0 s(kPa)
kse sfkð0Þ  jg 0 @p0y @py
þ dpy  ds
p0y @s @p0y Fig. 13. Predicted and measured degrees of saturation during equalization,
2 3 isotropic compression at constant suction, wetting and drying under isotropic net
@p0y
kse sfkð0Þ  jg @s stress of 50 kPa.
¼ dp þ 4Sr  b  @p0
5ds
p0y @p y
0y

kse sfkð0Þ  jg 0 kse sj 0 0 0 1.35

þ dpy þ 0 dp ¼ dp þ B ds þ A dpy þ C dp
@p0
p0y @p0yy p a
Wetting B' A4
ð31Þ 1.3
D
where 1.25 Meas. Pred.
e

kse sj Test 1
C¼ ð32Þ Test 4
p0 1.2
E A1
Rearranging Eq. (31) gives B
0 1.15 Drying F
0 dp þ B ds þ A dpy F'
dp ¼ ð33Þ
1C
1.1
Substituting Eq. (33) into Eq. (29) and considering Eq. (11) gives: 0 100 200
! s(kPa)
1 @f @f A @f @f 0 B @f
df ¼ dp þ dq þ þ dpy þ ds
1  C @p0 @q 1  C @p0 @p0y 1  C @p0 1.3
! b
1 @f @f A @f @f @p0y A3
¼ dp þ dq þ þ dp Wetting
1  C @p0 @q 1  C @p0 @p0y @p0y 0y 1.25 A2
B'
" ! # D
A @f @f @p0y B @f
e

þ þ þ ds ¼ 0 ð34Þ Meas. Pred.

1  C @p0 @p0y @s 1  C @p0 1.2 Test 2
E Test 3
where the isotropic yielding stress p0y for saturated soil is related to
Drying
the volumetric strain epv and is the same as that used in the tradi- 1.15 D'
tional Cam-clay model. Because the plastic volumetric strain epv is
a hardening parameter in the model, the volumetric plastic strains
depv caused by dp0y in a saturated soil are the same as those in an 1.1
0
0 100 200
unsaturated soils which are caused by dpy and/or ds. Allowing for
s(kPa)
Eq. (28), the following is obtained from Eq. (19):
Fig. 14. Predicted and measured void ratios during equalization, isotropic com-
1þe 1þe @f
dp0y ¼ p dep ¼ p K ð35Þ pression at constant suction, wetting and drying under isotropic net stress of
kð0Þ  j 0y v kð0Þ  j 0y @p0 50 kPa.
686 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688

Substituting Eq. (35) into Eq. (34) and solving for K gives: an unsaturated soils specimen is loaded to a small net stress
  0  (p = 20 kPa), and is then wetted to a saturated state for conducting
@f @f @f @f @py @f
@p0
dp þ ð1  CÞ @q dq þ A @p 0 þ ð1  CÞ @p0 @s
þ B @p 0 ds an isotropic compression test with an unloading–reloading cycle,
y
K¼   @p0 in order to obtain the saturated normal compression line and the
@f @f
A @p 0 þ ð1  CÞ @p0
y
p 1þe @f
@p0y 0y kð0Þj @p0 initial yield stress, p0y. A triaxial compression test was then con-
y

ð36Þ
From Eqs. (28) and (36), it is possible to calculate the plastic strain
increments caused by the increment in the net stress and/or the
decrement in suction.
4. Comparison of model predictions with experimental results
4.1. Model parameters and their determination
Because the proposed constitutive model is formulated within
an elasto-plastic framework, the strains consist of elastic and plas-
tic components. The model requires five parameters to describe the
stress–strain behaviour (kð0Þ; ks ; j; p0n ; M) and three parameters to
describe the water-retention behaviour (ksr ; js ; kse ).
To calculate the plastic strain, it is necessary to determine the
model parameters kð0Þ; ks ; j; p0n and M. These model parameters
are determined from the results of isotropic compression tests
with wetting and loading–unloading–reloading processes, fol-
lowed by subsequent triaxial compression tests on saturated and
unsaturated soils under constant suction and constant p (or con-
stant confining net stress). Two tests are here used to determine
the model parameters. First, an isotropic compression test is con-
ducted on unsaturated soils under a constant suction. Secondly,
ducted on this saturated specimen. From the result of the isotropic
compression test on the saturated specimen with an unloading–
reloading stress path, kð0Þ and j can be determined. From the
result of the triaxial test on the saturated specimen, the internal
friction angle (/ or M) can be determined. The quantity p0n can be
determined from the coordinates of the point where the two
isotropic compression lines for the saturated and unsaturated
specimens intersect. ks can be found from the values of kð0Þ and
the compression index of the unsaturated specimen with suction
s by using Eq. (10).
The model parameters ksr , js and kse define the water-retention
curve and can be found as follows: kse is the slope of the e  Sr line
under constant suction, so kse can be determined by plotting e
against Sr for an isotropic compression test on unsaturated soils
under a constant suction. Thereafter, js and ksr are determined
from the results of a wetting test at a small net stress for saving
test time by using Eqs. (2)–(4), or Eqs. (5) and (6). The elastic com-
ponent is calculated from Hooke’s law. With Poisson’s ratio as-
sumed to be 1/3, the Young’s modulus is calculated in the same
way as for the Cam-clay model:
p0 ð1 þ eÞ
E¼ ð37Þ
j
The values of the relevant model parameters used in predicting
the stress–strain and water-retention behaviour of the Pearl clay
are as follows:

70
Test 4
C 1.2
F' (a) s=150kPa
F'
C 1.15 F
Test 1
Sr(%)

60 F
e

1.1
C
Measured (a) s=150kPa Meas. Pred.
Predicted 1.05 Test 1
50 Test 4
0 100 200
1
p(kPa) 50 100 200
p(kPa)
80
1.3
D' Test 3 C' (b) s=100kPa
70 D
1.2
Sr(%)

D'
e

C' C'
60 Test 2
1.1 Meas. Pred.
D
Test 2
(b) s=100kPa Test 3

50 1 1 02

0 100 200 50 100 200

p(kPa) p(kPa)
Fig. 15. Predicted and measured degrees of saturation during isotropic compres- Fig. 16. Predicted and measured void ratios during isotropic compression under
sion under constant suctions. constant suctions.
 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688 687

kð0Þ ¼ 0:11; j ¼ 0:03; ks ¼ 0:12; p0n ¼ 1:6 MPa;M ¼ 1:15;
kse ¼ 0:35; ksr ¼ 0:13; js ¼ 0:03
4.2. Model prediction versus experimental results
The above model is used to predict the measured unsaturated
soil behaviour obtained from Test 1, Test 2, Test 3 and Test 4 de-
scribed in Section 2.
Figs. 13 and 14 show the comparisons between predicted and
measured degrees of saturation and void ratio during the equaliza-
tion from point A to B or B0 , isotropic compression from B0 to D or
from B to F, and the wetting–drying tests with DED0 path for Test 3
and DED0 F0 path for Test 4. The measured results are the same as
those in Figs. 3 and 4, and the predicted results were obtained
using the proposed coupled model for unsaturated soils with the
above model parameters. The initial (i.e., after compaction) values
of yield stress (p0y) and suction (s0) used in all model predictions
were p0y = 25 kPa and s0 = 110 kPa. On the other hand, because
the measured initial values of void ratios and degrees of saturation
were rather different between the four tests, these experimental
values were taken as the starting points of the respective
simulations.
Figs. 15 and 16 show the comparisons of predicted and mea-
sured results of the isotropic compression tests on unsaturated
compacted Pearl clay under suctions of 100 kPa and 150 kPa. It
can be seen from Figs. 15 and 16 that the model can predict not
only the deformation but also the change in the degree of satura-
tion. From Fig. 15, we can see that the change in the degree of sat-
uration during isotropic loading from 50 kPa to 200 kPa in Test 4
and Test 3 are less large than those in Test 1 and Test 2, respec-
tively. Generally, model predictions appear in agreement with
the test results.
Figs. 17 and 18 show comparisons of the predicted and mea-
sured results of triaxial compression tests on unsaturated com-
pacted Pearl clay under constant mean net stress (p = 200 kPa)
and constant suctions (s = 100 kPa and s = 150 kPa). These tests
are subsequent to the isotropic compression tests in Figs. 15
and 16. It can be seen from Figs. 17 and 18 that the stress ratio
(r1/r3)-strain relation and strength in Test 3 and Test 4 are high-
er than those in Test 2 and Test 1, respectively. The model can
predict the differences due to different degrees of saturation for
the same imposed stress path and specimens with almost the
same density. It should pointed out that the Barcelona Basic Mod-
el (BBM) cannot predict such differences because BBM uses the
net stress and suction as the stress-state variables without the
degree of saturation being directly incorporated. The predicted
and measured results also show the degree of saturation in-
creases with shearing.
It can be concluded from Fig. 13 to Fig 18 that the model with
the eight model parameters is capable of providing good predic-
tions of the stress–strain and water-retention behaviour of unsat-
urated compacted soil under isotropic and general stress paths.
The effect of the saturation degree on the stress–strain behaviour
and strength of unsaturated soils can also be taken into account
by the model.

1/ 3 90
4

80
3 Meas. Pred.
Meas. Pred.
Sr (%)

Test 2
2 Test 3 Test 2
Test 3
70
-10 1 10 20
0
3(%) 1(%)
60
5 b
v(%) a 0 5 10 15 20
ε1 (%)

Fig. 17. Predicted and measured results of triaxial compression tests for different initial degrees of saturation under p = 200 kPa and s = 100 kPa.

1/ 3 75
5

4
70 Meas. Pred.
3 Meas. Pred. Test 1
S r (%)

Test 1 Test 4
Test 4
1(%)
65
-10 -5 1 5 10
0
3(%)
5
60
b
v(%) a 0 5 10 15 20
ε1(%)

Fig. 18. Predicted and measured results of triaxial compression tests for different initial degrees of saturation under p = 200 kPa and s = 150 kPa.
688 D.A. Sun et al. / Computers and Geotechnics 37 (2010) 678–688
5. Conclusions
(1) The results of triaxial tests on unsaturated soils indicate that
the specimens with different degrees of saturation have dif-
ferent stress–strain behaviour and strength even under the
same net stress and suction paths. The higher the degree
of saturation is, the higher the stress ratios corresponding
to a given axial strain and the strength will be, when other
conditions are the same. This phenomenon cannot be
completely predicted by the models using the net stress
and suction as the stress-state variables for unsaturated soils
without taking into account the influence of degree of
saturation.
(2) An hydro-mechanical constitutive model for unsaturated
soils by using the ‘average skeleton stress’ and suction as
the stress-state variables is used to predict the stress–
strain-strength and water-retention behaviour of unsatu-
rated compacted specimens, with same stress state in terms
of net stress and suction but different degrees of saturation,
during isotropic and triaxial compression tests. The compar-
isons between predicted and measured results indicate that
the coupled model provides good description of the stress–
strain and water-retention behaviour of unsaturated com-
pacted clay during isotropic and triaxial compression tests,
and the model can quantitatively simulate the effect of
degree of saturation on the mechanical behaviour of unsatu-
rated soils.
Acknowledgments
This research was sponsored by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 10972130) and the Innovative
Foundation for graduate students at Shanghai University, China.
The authors also wish to thank the anonymous reviewer for his
constructive and helpful comments and Professor Wenxiong
Huang at Hohai University, China and Dr. Jie Li at RMIT University,
Australia for their kindly improving the paper.
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