Advances in Unsaturated Geotechnics

Proceedings of sessions at Geo-Denver 2000, held in Denver, Colorado, August 5-8, 2000. Sponsored by the Geo-Institute of ASCE.

This Geotechnical Special Publication contains 38 papers that advance understanding of measuring, characterizing, and predicting the properties, behavior, and performance of unsaturated materials typically used in geotechnical engineering practice. Materials discussed in this volume include coarse-grained soils, compacted soils, geotextiles, loess, residual soils, shales, spoil fill, and swelling and expansive soils. These unsaturated materials are characterized according to soil-water characteristic curves, hydraulic conductivity, shear strength, and/or stress-strain properties. Both static and dynamic loading conditions are considered. Advances in the state of the art with respect to both laboratory and field measurements of unsaturated soil properties are included. Finally, predictions of unsaturated soil properties and their behavior in specific applications, such as landfill liners and covers, heave of slabs on grade, and the bearing capacity of foundations on or in unsaturated soils, are addressed.