COHESION OF COMPACTED UNSATURATED SANDY SOILS AND AN EQUATION FOR PREDICTING COHESION WITH RESPECT TO INITIAL-DEGREE OF SATURATION

摘要

Embankments which carry highway or railway need firm foundations, for that reason they are generally constructed with compacted sandy soils for which shear strength plays a very important role in stability. However, there is limited available information in existing literature on shear strength behavior of unsaturated sandy soils. Generally the saturation conditions of soils of embankment during raining season are nearer 70%. However, during heavy rains, the soils become more saturated thereby reducing shear strength and consequently failure occurs.