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Fundamentals of the Hydromechanical Behavior of Multiphase Granular Materials

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Abstract

The principal aim of this chapter is to describe the hydromechanical behavior of unsaturated soils based on experimental evidence. The unsaturated soils are media in which the pore space is occupied by more than a fluid, typically liquid and gas. They give rise to very characteristic types of geotechnical problem such as: the loss of strength associated with the increase in water content or degree of saturation and the damage to structure caused by the collapse for saturation induced by wetting. An appropriate description of the behavior of unsaturated soils must incorporate these fundamental effects of wetting on strength and deformation. The experimental evidence in terms of stiffness, compressibility, and strength is presented and discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ingegneria Informatica (DICII), Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1, Rome, 00133, Italy

    Francesca Casini

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  1. Francesca Casini
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Correspondence to Francesca Casini .

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton Department of Mechanical Engineering, Binghamton, New York, USA

    Congrui Jin

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Gianluca Cusatis

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Casini, F. (2016). Fundamentals of the Hydromechanical Behavior of Multiphase Granular Materials. In: Jin, C., Cusatis, G. (eds) New Frontiers in Oil and Gas Exploration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40124-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40124-9_14

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