2 research outputs found
Controlling suction by vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures, application to the determination of the water retention properties of MX80 clay
Problems related to unsaturated soils are frequently encountered in
geotechnical or environmental engineering works. In most cases, for the purpose
of simplicity, the problems are studied by considering the suction effects on
volume change or shear strength under isothermal conditions. Under isothermal
condition, very often, a temperature independent water retention curve is
considered in the analysis, which is obviously a simplification. When the
temperature changes are too significant to be neglected, it is necessary to
account for the thermal effects. In this paper, a method for controlling
suction using the vapour equilibrium technique at different temperatures is
presented. First, calibration of various saturated saline solutions was carried
out from temperature of 20 degrees C to 60 degrees C. A mirror psychrometer was
used for the measurement of relative humidity generated by saturated saline
solutions at different temperatures. The results obtained are in good agreement
with the data from the literature. This information was then used to determine
the water retention properties of MX80 clay, which showed that the retention
curve is shifting down with increasing of temperature