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Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering)  2016, Vol. 17 Issue (7): 589-596    DOI: 10.1631/jzus.A1600300
Technical note     
A simple model for the hysteretic elastic shear modulus of unsaturated soils
Jie Xu, Chao Zhou
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
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Abstract  Considering the great importance of the elastic shear modulus G0 of unsaturated soils to the serviceability of many geo-structures in geo-energy and geo-environmental engineering, some semi-empirical models have been reported for the G0 of unsaturated soils. Existing models require at least three parameters and the calibration of the model parameters requires extensive time-consuming unsaturated soil tests. In this study, a simple semi-empirical model is proposed for the hysteretic G0 of unsaturated soils, requiring only two parameters. The constitutive variables of the mean Bishop’s stress and a bonding variable are adopted for considering the average stress between soil particles and the additional normal forces between soil particles provided by water menisci. The derived equation is applied to simulate the G0 of unsaturated silts and sands. Comparisons between the measured and calculated results demonstrate that the proposed equation is able to describe the influences of various factors on G0, including mean net stress, suction, wetting-drying, and void ratio.

Key wordsUnsaturated soil      Modeling      Elastic shear modulus      Small strain      Suction      Degree of saturation     
Received: 07 April 2016      Published: 05 July 2016
CLC:  TU433  
Cite this article:

Jie Xu, Chao Zhou. A simple model for the hysteretic elastic shear modulus of unsaturated soils. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 2016, 17(7): 589-596.

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http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/10.1631/jzus.A1600300     OR     http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/Y2016/V17/I7/589

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