ISSN: 0149-6115
Published Online: 30 April 2007
Page Count: 8

A New Isotropic Cell for Studying the Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of Unsaturated Expansive Clays

Tang, Anh-Minh
Research Engineer and Professor, respectively,Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees,

Cui, Yu-Jun
Research Engineer and Professor, respectively,Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees,

Barnel, Nathalie
Research Engineer,Group Couplages Physique-Mecanique,

(Received 24 April 2006; accepted 31 January 2007)

Abstract

This paper presents a new suction-temperature controlled isotropic cell that can be used to study the thermo-mechanical behavior of unsaturated expansive clays. The vapor equilibrium technique is used to control the soil suction; the temperature of the cell is controlled using a thermostat bath. The isotropic pressure is applied using a volume/pressure controller that is also used to monitor the volume change of soil specimen. Preliminary experimental results showed good performance of the cell.

Keywords:
unsaturated soil, isotropic cell, suction-temperature control, thermo-mechanical behavior, expansive soil

Paper ID: GTJ100623
DOI: 10.1520/GTJ100623
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