CAPÍTULO 7

Efectiva, intergranular, y la tensión

total

7.1 INTRODUCCIÓN fases (por lo general agua y aire) pueden llevar a la tensión normal, pero no

ial
esfuerzo cortante. Además, siempre que la altura total en las fases de fluidos
Las propiedades de compresibilidad, deformación, y la fuerza de una
dentro de la masa de suelo difiere de la de fuera de la masa de suelo, no habrá
masa de suelo dependen del esfuerzo requerido para deformar o
flujo de fluido dentro o fuera de la masa de suelo hasta la igualdad de carga
desplazar las partículas o grupos de partículas respecto a la otra. En la

r
total se alcanza.
mayoría de los materiales de ingeniería, la resistencia a la deformación
se proporciona por las fuerzas fisicoquímicas de interacción que se
ate En este capítulo, las relaciones entre las tensiones en una masa de suelo
unen los átomos, moléculas y partículas entre sí química interna y. se examinan con particular referencia a la tensión soportada por el
Aunque tales fuerzas también juegan un papel en el comportamiento ensamblaje de las partículas del suelo y el estrés transportados por el fluido
de los suelos, las propiedades de compresión y fuerza dependen de poro fl. fuerzas entre partículas de varios tipos son examinados, la
dM

principalmente de los efectos de la gravedad a través de peso propio y naturaleza de la tensión efectiva se considera, y se analizan los efectos
en las tensiones aplicadas a la masa de suelo. El estado de una masa físico-químicas en la presión de poro.
de suelo dado, como se indica, por ejemplo, por su contenido de agua,
la estructura, la densidad, o la relación de vacíos, refleja las influencias
de esfuerzos aplicados en el pasado, y esto distingue, además, los
suelos de la mayoría de otros materiales de ingeniería, que,
hte

7.2 Principio de tensión efectiva

El principio de la tensión efectiva es la clave de la mecánica moderna

del suelo. El desarrollo de este principio fue iniciada por Terzaghi
Debido a las dependencias de estrés del estado, un suelo dado puede
alrededor de 1920 y se extendió durante varios años (Skempton,
rig

presentar una amplia gama de propiedades. Afortunadamente, sin

embargo, las tensiones, el estado y las propiedades no son
independientes, y las relaciones entre el estrés y cambio de volumen, el
estrés y la rigidez, y el estrés y la fuerza se pueden expresar en términos
py
1960a). Los registros históricos del desarrollo se describen en
Goodman (1999) y De Boer (2000). Una declaración lúcida del
principio fue dada por Terzaghi (1936) en la Primera Conferencia

Internacional de Mecánica de Suelos e Ingeniería de Cimentaciones. El

de parámetros definible del suelo tales como compresibilidad y ángulo de escribio:
fricción. En suelos con propiedades que son influidas significativamente
por las fuerzas fisicoquímicas de interacción química y, pueden ser
Co

necesarios otros parámetros tales como la cohesión. Las tensiones en cualquier punto de una sección a través de una masa de suelo se pueden

calcular a partir de la el total del principal tensiones, 1,

2, que actúan en este punto. Si los huecos del suelo se llenan con
3,

agua bajo un estrés u, las tensiones principales totales constan de dos

La mayoría de los problemas que implican cambio de volumen, la
partes. Una parte, u, actúa en el agua
deformación y la fuerza requieren una consideración separada de la
y en el sólido en todas las direcciones con la misma intensidad. Se llama la la
tensión que es llevada por el conjunto de grano y que lleva por las fases tensión de neutro ( o la presión del agua de poro). El balance
fluidas. Esta distinción es esencial porque un conjunto de granos en u, u, y
1 1 2 2 3 3

contacto puede resistir tanto normal y esfuerzo cortante, pero el líquido y el u representa un exceso sobre el estrés neutral u, y tiene su asiento
gas exclusivamente en la fase sólida del suelo.

173

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Obtenido de: www.knovel.com

174 7 EFICAZ, intergranular, Y tensión total

Esta fracción de las tensiones principales en total será llamado principales tícu fuerzas en una masa de suelo. fuerzas entre partículas en la
tensiones efectivas. . . . Un cambio en la tensión neutra u produce prácticamente ningún microescala se pueden separar en los siguientes tres categorías
cambio de volumen y tiene prácticamente ninguna influencia en las condiciones de
(Santamarina, 2003):
estrés para el fracaso
. . . . Los materiales porosos (tales como arena, arcilla, y hormigón) 1. Fuerzas esqueléticos debido a la carga externa Estas
reaccionan a un cambio de u como si fueran incompresible y como si su fricción
Las fuerzas son transmitidas a través de las partículas de las fuerzas
interna fuera igual a cero. Todos los efectos mensurables de un cambio de estrés,
aplicadas externamente [por ejemplo, cargas de base) (Fig. 7.1 una)].
como la compresión, distorsión y un cambio de resistencia al cizallamiento están exclusivamente
debido a cambios en las tensiones efectivas
2. Fuerzas de nivel de partículas Estos incluyen partículas
1
, 2 y
. Por lo tanto todas las investigaciones de la estabilidad de una saturado
fuerza de peso, fuerza de flotación cuando una partícula se sumerge
3

cuerpo de suelo requiere el conocimiento tanto de la total y las tensiones bajo de fluido, y las fuerzas hidrodinámicas o fuerzas de filtración
neutras. debido a los poros de fluido en movimiento a través de la red de poros
interconectados (Fig.
En términos más simples, el principio de la tensión efectiva afirma que 7.1 si).
(1) la tensión efectiva controla tensión-deformación, cambio de volumen, 3. Póngase en contacto con las fuerzas de nivel Estos incluyen eléctrica
y la fuerza, independientemente de la magnitud de la presión de poro, y fuerzas, fuerzas capilares cuando el suelo se insaturado, y las
(2) la tensión efectiva es dada por fuerzas de cementación reactiva (fig.
u para un suelo saturado. 1
7.1 C).
Existe una amplia evidencia experimental para demostrar que estas

ial
declaraciones son esencialmente correcta para suelos. El principio es Cuando se aplican fuerzas externas, tanto de las fuerzas normales y
esencial para describir la consolidación de un líquido saturado deformable tangenciales se desarrollan a contactos de partículas. Todas las
sólido poroso, como se hizo para el caso unidimensional por Terzaghi y partículas no comparten las fuerzas o tensiones aplicadas en los límites

desarrollado para el caso tridimensional por otros tales como Biot (1941).
También es un concepto esencial para la comprensión del
comportamiento de la licuefacción del suelo durante un terremoto.
ate
El esfuerzo total puede ser medido o calculado usando las fuerzas
dM
r
en la misma manera. Cada partícula tiene diferentes fuerzas
esqueléticas en función de la posición relativa a las partículas vecinas en
contacto. La transferencia de fuerzas a través de contactos de partículas
de los esfuerzos externos se muestra en la Fig. 5.15 usando un modelo
fotoelástico. cadenas de una fuerte fuerza de partículas se forman en la
dirección de la tensión principal mayor. La evolución y la distribución de

externas y la fuerza de cuerpo debido al peso de la mezcla de agua del suelo
directamente. Una presión de agua de los poros, que se denota en este
documento por u 0, puede medirse en un punto alejado de la zona entre
partículas. La presión real del agua de los poros en la zona entre partículas es u.
Sabemos que en el equilibrio del potencial total o la cabeza del agua en los
dos puntos deben ser iguales, pero esto no significa que uu 0, como se discute
hte
fuerzas entre partículas esqueléticas en los suelos gobiernan el
comportamiento macroscópico de tensión-deformación, cambio de
volumen y fuerza. A medida que el suelo se acerca fracaso, el pandeo
de las cadenas de la fuerza de partículas se produce y bandas de corte
se desarrollan debido a la localización de la deformación.

en la Sección 7.7. La tensión efectiva es una cantidad deducida, que en la

práctica se toma como
los pesos de partículas actúan como fuerzas de cuerpo en suelo seco y
u 0. contribuyen a las fuerzas del esqueleto, observados en el modelo fotoelástico se
rig

muestra en la Fig. 5.15. Cuando los poros se llenan con líquidos, el peso de los
fluidos se suma a la fuerza de cuerpo de la fluidos de mezcla de suelo-. Sin
embargo, los resultados de presión hidrostática desde el peso de fluido, y la fuerza
7.3 DISTRIBUCIÓN DE LA FUERZA DE
de levantamiento debido a la flotabilidad reduce el peso efectivo de un uid- llenan
py

PARTÍCULAS EN UN SISTEMA
suelo FL. Esto conduce a fuerzas más pequeñas para esqueléticos suelo
El termino la tensión intergranular se ha convertido en sinónimo de sumergido en comparación con el suelo seco. fuerzas de filtración que resultan de
tensión efectiva. Sea o no la tensión intergranular presiones de fluidos adicionales aplicadas externamente producen fuerzas
Co

yo
es de hecho igual a u no puede determinarse hidrodinámicas sobre las partículas y alteran las fuerzas esqueléticos.
sin examen más detallado de todo el interpar-

Los términos
1
y son las principales tensiones totales y eficaces.
Para las condiciones generales de estrés, hay seis componentes de tensión ( 11,
7.4 fuerzas inter
22, y 31), donde los tres primeros son las tensiones normales y los tres últimos son los
33, 12, 23,

esfuerzos de corte. En este caso, las tensiones efectivas son define como
u, u, interacciones de partículas de largo alcance asociados con capas dobles
11 11 22 22 33 33

u, 12 12
, 23 23
, y 31 31
. eléctricas y fuerzas de van der Waals son dis-

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Obtenido de: www.knovel.com


Carga externa
Fuerzas entre
partículas
Fuerzas entre
partículas
( una)
Figura 7.1 fuerzas entre partículas a nivel de partículas: ( una) fuerzas esqueléticos por la carga externa, ( si) fuerzas nivel de la partícula, y ( C)
fuerzas nivel de contacto (después de Santamarina, 2003).
cussed en el Capítulo 6. Estas interacciones controlan la floculación-de
floculación comportamiento de las partículas de arcilla en suspensión, y son
importantes en la inflamación suelos que contienen minerales de arcilla en
expansión de celosía. En masas de suelo más densas, otras fuerzas de
interacción se vuelven importantes así ya que pueden influir en las tensiones
dM
intergranulares y controlar la fuerza en los contactos entre partículas, que a
su vez controla la resistencia a la compresión y la fuerza. En una masa de
suelo en el equilibrio, debe haber un equilibrio entre todas las fuerzas entre
partículas, la presión en el agua, y las tensiones de contorno aplicadas.
hte
Fuerzas de repulsión entre partículas
Las fuerzas electrostáticas Muy alta repulsión, la repulsión nacido, desarrolla
en puntos de contacto entre las partículas. Es el resultado de la superposición
rig
entre las nubes de electrones, y es su fi cientemente grande para evitar la
interpenetración de la materia.
py
A distancias de separación más allá de la región de interferencia física
directa entre los iones adsorbidos y moléculas de agua de hidratación, las
interacciones de doble capa proporcionan la principal fuente de repulsión
entre partículas. La teoría de estas fuerzas se da en el Capítulo 6. Como se
Co
ha señalado allí, esta repulsión es muy sensible a valencia del catión, la
concentración de electrolito, y las propiedades dieléctricas de la UID de poro
fl.
La hidratación de la superficie y de iones La energía de hidratación de superficies
de las partículas y cationes de capa intermedia provoca grandes fuerzas de repulsión en
distancias de separación pequeñas entre las capas unitarias (distancia libre entre las
superficies de hasta aproximadamente 2 nm). La energía neta necesaria para eliminar
los últimos pocos
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Obtenido de: www.knovel.com
fuerzas inter 175
Fuerza Fuerza cuerpo de
flotabilidad si Saturada
filtración de flujo
Capilar Fuerza o Fuerza
Cementación reactiva
arrastre viscoso por la
La filtración de Fuerzas eléctricas
( si) ( C)
ial
r
ate capas de agua cuando las placas de arcilla se presionan entre sí pueden
ser de 0,05 a 0,1 J / m 2. La presión correspondiente requerida para
exprimir una capa molecular del agua puede ser tanto como 400 MPa
(4000 atm) (van Olphen,
1977).
Por lo tanto, solo la presión no es probable que sea su fi ciente para
exprimir toda el agua entre las superficies de partículas paralelas en arcillas
de origen natural. El calor y / o de alto vacío se necesitan para eliminar toda
el agua de un suelo fi negrained. Esto no significa, sin embargo, que toda el
agua no puede ser exprimido de entre los contactos entre partículas. En el
caso de interactuar esquinas de partículas, bordes y caras de asperezas
que interactúan, la tensión de contacto puede ser de varios miles de
atmósferas debido a que el área de contacto entre partículas es sólo una
proporción muy pequeña (
1%) del área de sección transversal total del suelo
en la mayoría de los casos. La naturaleza exacta de un contacto entre partículas sigue
siendo en gran medida una cuestión de especulación; Sin embargo, hay pruebas
(capítulo 12) que es efectivamente sólido a sólido.
repulsiones hidratación decaen rápidamente con la distancia de separación,
variando inversamente con el cuadrado de la distancia.
Las fuerzas de atracción entre partículas
atracciones electrostáticas Cuando los bordes de partículas y superficies
están cargadas de manera opuesta, hay atracción debido a las interacciones
entre las capas dobles de signo opuesto. partículas finas del suelo se observan a
menudo a adherirse cuando se seca. la atracción electrostática entre las
superficies a diferentes potenciales se ha sugerido como una causa. Cuando el
176 7 EFICAZ, intergranular, Y tensión total

brecha entre superficies de las partículas paralelas separadas por la distancia re a También hay un aumento de la resistencia a la fuerza tangencial en los
potenciales V 1 y V 2 es conductor, existe una fuerza de atracción por unidad de contactos de partículas. Sin embargo, cuando se rompe el enlace, la capacidad
área, o resistencia a la tracción, dado por (Inglés, 1962) de corte en un contacto se reduce a la de los contactos no cementadas.

An analysis of the strength of cemented bonds should consider

4.4 10 ( V V) 6 2 three cases: (i) failure in the cement, (ii) failure in the particle and
1 2 2
F 2
Nuevo Méjico (7,1) (iii) failure at the cement–particle interface. The following equation
re
can be derived (Ingles, 1962) for the tensile strength T per unit area
of soil cross section:
dónde F es la resistencia a la tracción, re es en micrómetros, y V 1 y V 2 son en
milivoltios. Esta fuerza es independiente del tamaño de partícula y se
convierte en significantes (mayor de 7 kN / m 2 o 1 psi) para distancias de
1 n
separación de menos de 2,5 nm. T
Pk n
(7.2)
1 e
Ai
Lugares electromagnéticas atracciones electromagnéticos causados ​por 1

las interacciones dipolo dependientes de la frecuencia (fuerzas de van der

Waals) se describen en la Sección where P is the bond strength per contact zone, k is the mean
6.12. Anandarajah y Chen (1997) propusieron un método para cuantificar la fuerza coordination number of a grain, e is the void ratio, n is the number of
de van der Waals entre las partículas específicamente para los suelos de grano grains in an ideal breakage plane at right angles to the direction of T, and

ial
fino Fi con diversos parámetros geométricos tales como la longitud de las A i is the total surface area of the i th grain.
partículas, el grosor, la orientación y el espaciamiento.
For a random and isotropic assembly of spheres of diameter d, Eq.

r
Bonding primaria Valence Las interacciones químicas entre las (7.2) becomes
partículas y entre las partículas y la fase líquida adyacente sólo pueden
desarrollarse a corta distancia. Covalentes y enlaces iónicos ocurren a
ate Pk
T
(7.3)
distancias de menos de 0,3 nm. Cementación implica unión química y se d 2( 1 e)
puede considerar como una atracción de corto alcance.
For a random and isotropic assembly of rods of length
dM

Ya sea enlaces de valencia primarios, o, posiblemente, enlaces de l and diameter d

hidrógeno, se puede desarrollar en los contactos entre partículas sin la
presencia de agentes de cementación es en gran parte una cuestión de Pk
especulación. Muy alta tensiones de contacto entre las partículas podrían T
(7.4)
d(l d/ 2)(1 e)
exprimir agua adsorbida y cationes y hacer que las superficies minerales
hte

para vienen juntos, quizás proporcionar oportunidad para la soldadura en

Bond strength P is evaluated in the following way (Fig.
frío. La energía de activación para la deformación del suelo es alto, en la
7.2) for two cemented spheres of radius R. It may be shown that
característica de gama para la ruptura de los enlaces químicos, y
comportamiento de resistencia aparece en conformidad razonable con la
teoría de adherencia de fricción (Capítulo 11). Por lo tanto, la unión
rig

( R cos )
interatómica entre las partículas parece posible. Por otro lado, la ausencia cosh R sin (7.5)
de cohesión en limos sobreconsolidados y arenas argumenta en contra de
dicha unión inducida por la presión.
so for known , can be computed. Then, for cement
py

failure,
Cementación La cementación puede desarrollarse naturalmente de la
2
precipitación de calcita, sílice, alúmina, óxidos de hierro, y posiblemente otros P c (7.6)
Co

compuestos inorgánicos u orgánicos. La adición de estabilizadores tales como

cemento y cal a un suelo también conduce a interpartıculas cementación. Si dos where c is the tensile strength of the cement; for sphere failure,
partículas no están cementadas, la fuerza entre partículas no puede convertirse
a la tracción; que pierden el contacto. Sin embargo, si se cementa un contacto
2
de partículas, es posible que algunas fuerzas entre partículas para convertirse P s
() (7.7)
en negativo debido a la resistencia a la tracción (o la fuerza) de los enlaces
cementado. where R sin , and s is the tensile strength of
the sphere, and for failure at the interface

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 INTERPARTICLE FORCES 177

mented natural materials, if the soil is unloaded from high

overburden stress, elastic rebound may disrupt cemented bonds.

Cementation allows interparticle normal forces to become

negative, and, therefore, the distribution and evolution of skeletal
forces may be different than in uncemented soils, even though the
applied external stresses are the same. Thus, the stiffness and
strength properties of a soil are likely to differ according to when
and how cementation was developed. How to account for this in
terms of effective stress is not yet clear.

Capillary Stresses Because water is attracted to soil particles

and because water can develop surface tension, suction develops
inside the pore fluid when a saturated soil mass begins to dry. This
suction acts like a vacuum and will directly contribute to the
effective stress or skeletal forces. The negative pore pressure is
usually considered responsible for apparent and temporary
cohesion in soils, whereas the other attractive forces produce true

ial
cohesion.

When the soil continues to dry, air starts to invade into the

r
ate pores. The air entry pressure is related to the pore size and can be
estimate using the following equation, assuming a capillary tube as
shown in Fig. 7.3 a:

Figure 7.2 Contact zone failures for cemented spheres.

2 aw cos
Pˆ (7.9)
rp
c
dM

where ˆ P c is the capillary pressure at air entry,

sin aw is
2
P 1
2R(1 cos ) (7.8) the air–water interfacial tension, is contact angle de-
fined in Fig. 7.3, and r p is the tube radius. For pure water and air,
aw depends on temperature, for exam-
hte

where 1 is the tensile strength of the interface bond. In principle, Eq.

ple, it is 0.0756 N/m at 0 C, 0.0728 N/m at 20 C, and
(7.6), (7.7), or (7.8) can be used to obtain a value for P in Eq. (7.2)
0.0589 N/m at 100 C. If the capillary pressure P c
enabling computation of the tensile strength T of a cemented soil.
( ua u w, where u a and u w are the air and water pressures,
respectively) is larger than P̂ c, then air in-
The behavior of cemented soils can depend on the timing of
rig

vades the pore. 2 Since soil has pores with various sizes, the water in
cementation development. Artificially cemented soils are often
the largest pores is displaced first followed by smaller pores. This
loaded after cementation has developed, whereas cementation
leads to a macroscopic model of the soil–water characteristic curve
develops during or after overburden loading in natural soils. In the
(or the capillary pressure–saturation relationship), as discussed in
former case, the particles and cementation bonding are loaded
py

Section 7.11.
together and contact forces can become negative depending on the
tensile resistance of cementation bonding. The distribution and
If the water surrounding the soil particles remains continuous
magnitude of skeletal forces are therefore influenced by both
[termed the ‘‘funicular’’ regime by Bear (1972)], the interparticle
Co

geometric arrangement of particles and the cementation bonding at

force acting on a particle with radius r can be estimated from
the particle contacts. In the latter case, on the other hand, the
contact forces induced by external loading are developed before
cementation coats the already loaded particles. In this case, it is
possible that cementation creates extra forces at particle contacts.
2 It is often assumed that u a
In some ce- 0 (for gauge pressure) or 1 atm (for
absolute pressure). However, this may not be true in cases such as rapid water
infiltration when air in the pores cannot escape or the air boundary is completely
blocked.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

178 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

Capillary Tube
Representing a Pore
2 rp

θ
ua

^ 2 σ aw cos θ
u w Pc = ρ w gd c =
rp
dc

( a) ( b)

Figure 7.3 Capillary tube concept for air entry estimation: ( a) capillary tube and ( b) bundle of capillary tubes to

ial
represent soil pores with different sizes.

r
2
2ˆ F
2r aw cos ate teractions of all these forces in a soil is beyond the present state of
rP (7.10)
c c
rp knowledge. Nonetheless, their existence bears directly on the
magnitude of intergranular pressure and the relationship between
intergranular pressure and effective stress as defined by
where r p is the size of the pore into which the air has entered. Since
the fluid acts like a membrane with negative pressure, this force
dM

u.
contributes directly to the skeletal forces like the water pressure as
A simplified equation for the intergranular stress in a soil may be
shown in Fig.
developed in the following way. Figure
7.4 a.
7.5 shows a horizontal surface through a soil at some depth. Since
As the soil continues to dry, the water phase becomes
the stress conditions at contact points, rather than within particles,
disconnected and remains in the form of menisci or liquid bridges at
are of primary concern, a wavy surface that passes through contact
hte

the interparticle contacts [termed the ‘‘pendular’’ regime by Bear

points (Fig.
(1972)]. The curved air–water interface produces a pore water
7.5 a) is of interest. The proportion of the total wavy surface area that
tension, which, in turn, generates interparticle compressive forces.
is comprised of intergrain contact area is very small (Fig. 7.5 c).
The force only acts at particle contacts in contrast to the funicular
regime, as shown in Fig. 7.4 b.
rig

The two particles in Fig. 7.5 that contact at point A

are shown in Fig. 7.6, along with the forces that act in a vertical
The interparticle force generally depends on the separation
direction. Complete saturation is assumed. Vertical equilibrium
between the two particles, the radius of the liquid bridge, interfacial
across wavy surface x – x is considered. 3 The effective area of
tension, and contact angle (Lian et al., 1993). Once the water
py

interparticle contact is
phase becomes discontinuous, evaporation and condensation are
a c; its average value along the wavy surface equals the total mineral
the primary mechanisms of water transfer. Hence, the humidity of
contact area along the surface divided by the number of interparticle
the gas phase and the temperature affect the water vapor pressure
Co

contacts. Define area a as

at the surface of water menisci, which in turn influences the air
pressure u a.

7.5 INTERGRANULAR PRESSURE
Several different interparticle forces were described in the previous
section. Quantitative expression of the in-
3 Note that only vertical forces at the contact are considered in this simplified analysis.
It is evident, however, that applied boundary nor- mal and shear stresses each induce
both normal and shear forces at interparticle contacts. These forces contribute both to
the develop- ment of soil strength and resistance to compression and to the slip- ping
and sliding of particles relative to each other. These interparticle movements are
central to compression, shear deformations, and creep as discussed in Chapters 10,
11, and 12.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 INTERGRANULAR PRESSURE 179

Continuous
Water Film

Interparticle
Forces
Soil Particles
Soil Particles

Air

Liquid
Bridges

Pores of Radius
r p Filled with Air
Suction forces act only at particle contacts and
the magnitude of the forces depends on the
Negative pore pressure acts all around

ial
size of liquid bridges.
the particles

( a) ( b)

r
ate
Figure 7.4 Microscopic water–soil interaction in unsaturated soils: ( a) funicular regime and ( b) pendular regime.
dM
hte
rig
py

Figure 7.6 Forces acting on interparticle contact A.

Co

the average total cross-sectional area along a horizontal plane

served by the contact. It equals the total horizontal area divided by
the number of interparticle contacts along the wavy surface. The
forces acting on area
a in Fig. 7.6 are:

1. a, the force transmitted by the applied stress , which includes

externally applied forces and body weight from the soil
Figure 7.5 Surfaces through a soil mass. above.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

180 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

2. u(a a c), the force carried by the hydrostatic pressure u. Becausewhere a w/ a. Although it is clear that for a dry soil
a a c and a c is very small, 0, and for a saturated soil 1.0, the usefulness
the force may be taken as ua. Long-range, double-layer of Eq. (7.15) has been limited in practice because of uncertainties
repulsions are included in ua. about for intermediate degrees of sat-
3. A(a a c) Aa, the force caused by the long- uration. Further discussion of the effective stress concept for
range attractive stress A, that is, van der Waals and unsaturated soils is given in Section 7.12.
electrostatic attractions. Limiting the discussion to saturated soils, two questions arise:
4. A a c, the force developed by the short-range at-
tractive stress A , resulting from primary valence (chemical)
bonding and cementation. 1. How does the intergranular pressure i relate to

5. Ca c, the intergranular contact reaction that is gen- the effective stress as defined for most analyses, that is,
erated by hydration and Born repulsion. u?
2. How does the intergranular pressure i relate to
Vertical equilibrium of forces requires that the measured quantity, m u 0, that is taken
as the effective stress, recalling (Section 7.2) that pore
a Aa A a ua Ca (7.11) pressure can only be measured at points outside the true
c c
interparticle zone?

Division of all terms by a converts the forces to stresses per unit

Answers to these questions require a more detailed consideration
area of cross section,

ial
of the meaning of fluid pressures in soils.

ac
(CA) uA (7.12)

r
a
7.6 WATER PRESSURES AND POTENTIALS
ate
The term ( C A )a c / a represents the net force across the contact Pressures in the pore fluid of a soil can be expressed in several
divided by the total cross-sectional area (soil plus water) that is ways, and the total pressure may involve several contributions. In
served by the contact. In other words, it is the intergrain force hydraulic engineering, problems are analyzed using Bernoulli’s
divided by the gross area or the intergranular pressure in common equation for the total heads and head losses associated with flow
dM

soil mechanics usage. Designation of this term by between two points, that is,
i gives

Au (7.13)
i p1 v 21 p2 v 22
Z 1
Z 2
h 1–2 (7.16)
2g 2g
hte

w w
Equations analogous to Eqs. (7.11), (7.12), and (7.13) can be
developed for the case of a partly saturated soil. To do so requires
where Z 1 and Z 2 are the elevations of points 1 and 2,
consideration of the pressures in the water u w and in the air u a and the
p 1 and p 2 are the hydrostatic pressures at points 1 and
proportions of area
2, v 1 and v 2 are the flow velocities at points 1 and 2,
rig

a contributed by water a w and by air a a with the condition that

w is the unit weight of water, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h
1–2is the loss in head between points 1 and 2. The total head H ( dimension
L) is
a a a i.e., a → c0
py

w a

p v2
The resulting equation is HZ (7.17)
w 2g
Co

aw
i
Au a
( uw u a) (7.14) Flow results only from differences in total head; conversely, if
a
the total heads at two points are the same, there can be no flow,
even if Z 1 Z 2 and p 1
In the absence of significant long-range attractions, this equation
p 2. If there is no flow, there is no head loss and h 1–2
is similar to that proposed by Bishop (1960) for partially saturated
0.
soils
The flow velocity through soils is low, and as a result v 2 / 2 g → 0,
and in most cases it may be neglected. Therefore, the relationship
i
u a
( ua u w) (7.15)

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com


p1 p2
Z Z h (7.18)
1 2 1–2
w w
is the basis for evaluation of pore pressures and analysis of
seepage through soils and other porous media.
Although the absence of velocity terms is a factor that seems to
simplify the analysis of flows and pressures in soils, there are other
considerations that tend to complicate the problem. These include:
1. The use of several terms to describe the status of water in
soils, for example, potential, pressure, and head.
2. The possible existence of tensions in the pore water.
3. Compositional differences in the water from point-to-point and
adsorptive force fields from particle surfaces.
4. Differences in interparticle forces and the energy state of the
pore fluid from point to point owing to thermal, electrical, and
chemical gradients. Such gradients can cause fluid flows,
deformations, and volume changes, as considered in more
detail in Chapter 9.
Some formalism in definition and terminology is necessary to
avoid confusion. The status of water in a soil can be expressed in
terms of the free energy relative to free, pure water (Aitchison, et
dM
al., 1965). The free energy can be (and is) expressed in different
ways, including
1. Potential ( dimensions— L 2 T 2: J/kg)
hte
2. Head ( dimensions— L: m, cm, ft)
3. Pressure ( dimensions— ML 1 T 2: kN/m 2, dyn/
cm 2, tons/m 2, atm, bar, psi, psf)
If the free energy is less than that of pure water under the
rig
ambient air pressure, the terms suction and
negative pore water pressure are used.
The total potential (head, pressure) of soil water is the potential
(head, pressure) in pure water that will cause the same free energy
py
at the same temperature as in the soil water. An alternative
definition of total potential is the work per unit quantity to transport
reversibly and isothermally an infinitesimal amount of pure water
Co
from a pool at a specified elevation at atmospheric pressure to the
point in soil water under consideration.
The selection of the components of the total potential
(total head H, total pressure P) is somewhat arbitrary (Bolt
and Miller, 1958); however, the following have gained acceptance
for geotechnical work (Aitchison, et al., 1965):
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com
WATER PRESSURE EQUILIBRIUM IN SOIL 181
1. Gravitational potential g ( head Z, pressure p z)
corresponds to elevation head in normal hydraulic usage.
2. Matrix or capillary potential m ( head h m, pres-
sure p) is the work per unit quantity of water to transport
reversibly and isothermally an infinitesimal quantity of water
to the soil from a pool containing a solution identical in
composition to the soil water at the same elevation and
external gas pressure as that of the point under
consideration in the soil. This component corresponds to the
pressure head in normal hydraulic usage. It results from that
part of the boundary stresses that is transmitted to the water
phase, from pressures generated by capillarity menisci, and
from water adsorption forces exerted by particle surfaces. A
piezometer measures the matrix potential if it contains fluid
of the same composition as the soil water.
ial
3. Osmotic (or solute) potential s ( head h s, pres-
sure p s) is the work per unit quantity of water to transport
reversibly and isothermally an infinitesimal quantity of water
r
ate from a pool of pure water at a specified elevation and
atmospheric pressure to a pool containing a solution
identical in composition to the soil water, but in all other
respects identical to the reference pool. This component is,
in effect, the osmotic pressure of the soil water, and it
depends on the composition and ability of the soil particles to
restrain the movement of adsorbed cations. The osmotic
potential is negative, that is, water tends to flow in the
direction of increasing concentration. The total potential,
head, and pressure then become
g m s
(7.19)
HZh m
h s
(7.20)
Pp pp (7.21)
z s
At equilibrium and no flow there can be no variations in , H, or P within
the soil.
7.7 WATER PRESSURE EQUILIBRIUM IN SOIL
Consider a saturated soil mass as shown in Fig. 7.7. Conditions at
several points will be analyzed in terms of heads for simplicity,
although potential or pressure could also be used with the same
result. The system is assumed at constant temperature throughout.
At point
0, a point inside a piezometer introduced to measure
182 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

r ial
ate
Figure 7.7 Schematic representation of a saturated soil for analysis of pressure conditions.

pore pressure, Z 0, h m h m 0, and h s 0 0 if pure At point 2, which is between the same two clay particles as point
dM

water is used in the piezometer. Thus, 1 but closer to a particle surface, there will be a different ion
concentration than at 1. Thus, at equilibrium, and assuming Z 2
H 00 h 0h
0,
m0 m0

u0
hte

It follows that h h h h h
m2 s2 m1 s1 m0
w

P 0
hm0w u 0 (7.22)
A similar analysis could be applied to any point in the system. If
point 3 were midway between two clay particles spaced the same
rig

the measured pore pressure.

distance apart as the particles on either side of point 1, then h s 3
Point 1 is at the same elevation as point 0, except it is inside the
h s 1, but Z 3 0.
soil mass and midway between two clay particles. At this point, Z 1 Thus,
0, but h s 0 because the
py

electrolyte concentration is not zero. Thus,

u0
Z 3
h m3
h s3
Z 3
h m3
h s1 (7.24)
w
H 01 h m1
hs1
Co

A partially saturated system can also be analyzed, but the

If no water is flowing, H 1 H 0, and
influences of curved air–water interfaces must be taken into
account in the development of the h m
h m1
h s1
hm0 terms.
The conclusions that result from the above analysis of
Also, because p 1 p0 u0 component potentials are:

1. As the osmotic and gravitational components vary from point

u 0
hm1w hs1w (7.23) to point in a soil at equilibrium,

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com


the matrix or capillary component must also vary to maintain
equal total potential. The concept that hydrostatic pressure
must vary with elevation to maintain equilibrium is intuitive;
however, the idea that this pressure must vary also in
response to compositional differences is less easy to
visualize. Nonetheless, this underlies the whole concept of
water flow by chemical osmosis.
2. The total potential, head, and pressure are measurable, and
separation into components is possible experimentally,
although it is difficult.
3. A pore pressure measurement using a piezometer containing
pure water gives a pressure u 0 w h,
where h is the pressure head at the piezometer. When
referred back to points between soil particles, u 0 is seen to
include contributions from osmotic pressures as well as
matrix pressures. Since osmotic pressures are the cause of
longrange repulsions due to double-layer interactions,
measured pore water pressures may include contributions
from long-range interparticle repulsive forces.
r
ate
7.8 MEASUREMENT OF PORE PRESSURES IN SOILS
Several techniques for the measurement of pore water pressures
dM
are available. Some are best suited for laboratory use, whereas
others are intended for use in the field. Some yield the pore
pressure or suction by direct measurement, while others require
deduction of the value using thermodynamic relationships.
hte
1. Piezometers of Various Types Water in the pi-
ezometer communicates with the soil through a porous
stone or filter. Pressures are determined from the water level
in a standpipe, by a manometer, by a pressure gauge, or by
rig
an electronic pressure transducer. A piezometer used to
measure pressures less than atmospheric is usually termed
a tensiometer.
py
2. Gypsum Block, Porous Ceramic, and Filter
Paper The electrical properties across a specially prepared
gypsum block or porous ceramic block are measured. The
Co
water held by the block determines the resistance or
permittivity, and the moisture tension in the surrounding soil
determines the amount of moisture in the block (Whalley et
al., 2001). The same principle can be applied by placing a
dry filter paper on a soil specimen and allowing the soil
moisture to absorb into the paper. When the suction in the
filter paper is equal to the suction in the soil, the two
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com
MEASUREMENT OF PORE PRESSURES IN SOILS 183
reach equilibrium, and the suction can be determined by the
water content of the filter paper. These techniques are used
for measurement of pore pressures less than atmospheric.
3. Pressure-Membrane Devices An exposed soil
sample is placed on a membrane in a sealed chamber. Air
pressure in the chamber is used to push water from the
pores of the soil through the membrane. The relationship
between water content and pressure is used to establish the
relationship between soil suction and water content.
4. Consolidation Tests The consolidation pressure
on a sample at equilibrium is the soil water suction. If the
consolidation pressure were instantaneously removed, then
a negative water pressure or suction of the same magnitude
would be needed to prevent water movement into the soil.
5. Vapor Pressure Methods The relationship be-
tween relative humidity and water content is used to establish
ial
the relationship between suction and water content.
6. Osmotic Pressure Methods Soil samples are
equilibrated with solutions of known osmotic pressure to give
a relationship between water content and water suction.
7. Dielectric Sensors Such as Capacitance Probes
and Time Domain Reflectometry Soil moisture can be
indirectly determined by measuring the dielectric properties
of unsaturated soil samples. With the knowledge of soil
water characteristics relationship (Section 7.11), the
negative pore pressure corresponding to the measured soil
moisture can be determined. The capacitance probe
measures change in frequency response of the soil’s
capacitance, which is related to dielectric constants of soil
particle, water, and air. The capacitance is largely influenced
by water content, as the dielectric constant of water is large
compared to the dielectric constants of soil particle and air.
Time domain reflectrometry measures the travel time of a
high-frequency, electromagnetic pulse. The presence of
water in the soil slows down the speed of the
electromagnetic wave by the change in the dielectric
properties. Volumetric water content can therefore be
indirectly measured from the travel time measurement.
Piezometer methods are used when positive pore pressures are
to be measured, as is usually the case in dams, slopes, and
foundations on soft clays. The other methods are suitable for
measurement of negative pore pressures or suction. Pore pressures
are often negative in expansive and partly saturated soils. More
detailed
184 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

descriptions and comparisons of these and other methods are defined effective stress u 0 differ by the net
given by Croney et al. (1952), Aitchison et al. (1965), Richards and interparticle stress due to physicochemical contributions,
Peter (1987), and Ridley et al. (2003).

i AR (7.30)

7.9 EFFECTIVE AND INTERGRANULAR PRESSURE

In Section 7.5, it was shown that the intergranular pressure is given
by
i Au
where u is the hydrostatic pressure between particles (or h m w in the
terminology of Section 7.7). Generalized forms of Eq. (7.24) are
When A and R are both small, as would be true in granular soils,
silts, and clays of low plasticity, or in cases where A R, the
intergranular and effective stress are approximately equal. Only in
cases where either A or R is large, or both are large but of
significantly different magnitude, would the intergranular and
(7.25) effective stress be significantly different. Such a condition appears
not to be common, although it might be of importance in a
well-dispersed sodium montmorillonite, where compression
behavior can be accounted for reasonably well in terms of
double-layer repulsions (Chapter 10). 4

u Z w
hmw hsw (7.26)

ial
0

The derivation of Eq. (7.30) assumed vertical equilibrium, with

and contributing forces parallel to each other, that is, the intergranular
stress i is the sum of the

r
uh mw u 0
Z w
hsw (7.27) skeletal forces (defined as u 0) and the elec-

Thus, Eq. (7.25) becomes, for the case of no elevation difference

ate trochemical stress ( A R), as illustrated in Fig. 7.8 a.
This implies that the deformation induced by the electrochemical
between a piezometer and the point in question (i.e., Z 0), stress ( A R) is equal to the deformation induced by the skeletal
forces at contacts [i.e., a ‘‘parallel’’ model as described by Hueckel
(1992)]. The change in pore fluid chemistry at constant confinement
dM

i
Au 0
hsw (7.28) ( ) leads to changes in intergranular stresses
i re- ( ),
Because the quantity h s w is an osmotic pressure and the salt sulting in changes in shear strength, for example.
concentration between particles will invariably be greater than at An alternative assumption can be made; the total deformation of
points away from the soil (such as in a piezometer), h s w will be soil is the sum of the deformations of the particles and in the double
hte

negative. This pressure reflects double-layer repulsions. It has been layers as illustrated in Fig. 7.8 b. The effective stress
termed R is then equal to the
in some previous studies (Lambe, 1960; Mitchell, electrochemical stress ( R A):
1962). If h s w in Eq. (7.28) is replaced by the absolute value of R, we
obtain
rig

i
RA u 0 (7.31)

i
Au 0 R (7.29)
This is called the ‘‘series’’ model (Hueckel, 1992), and the model
From Eq. (7.25), it was seen that the intergranular pressure was
py

can be applicable for very fine soils at high water content, in which
dependent on long-range interparticle attractions A as well as on the particles are not actually in contact with each other but are aligned
applied stress and the in a parallel arrangement. Increase in intergranular stress
pore water pressure between particles u. Equation (7.29) indicates i or ef-
Co

that if intergranular pressure i is to fective stress changes the interparticle spacing,

be expressed in terms of a measured pore pressure u 0,
then the long-range repulsion R must also be taken into account. The
actual hydrostatic pressure between particles u
u0 R includes the effects of long-range
repulsions as required by the condition of constant total potential
for equilibrium.
In the general case, therefore, the true intergranular pressure
which may contribute to changes in strength properties upon
shearing.
4 A detailed analysis of effective stress in clays is presented by Chat- topadhyay
(1972), which leads to similar conclusions, including Eq. (7.29).
was termed the true effective stress and it governed the
i

i A u 0 R and the conventionally volume change behavior of Na–montmorillonite.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 ASSESSMENT OF TERZAGHI’S EQUATION 185

Skeletal Force
Skeletal Force
Electrochemical Force
Electrochemical Force

Skeletal Force
Skeletal Force Electrochemical Force
Electrochemical Force

σi σi

Skeletal Force
σ = σ _ u0
Skeletal Force Electrochemical
Particle Deformation by
σ = σ _ u0 Force A _R
Skeletal Force
Electrochemical
Force A _ R
Deformation at the
Total Deformation at the
Contact
σi Contact

ial
σi

σi= σ _ u0+ A _ R σi= σ _ u0= A _ R

r
( a) ( b)

Figure 7.8 Contribution of skeletal force (

ate u 0) and electrochemical force ( A R) to
intergranular force i: ( a) parallel model and ( b) series model.
dM

Since the particles are arranged in parallel as well as nonparallel
manner, the chemomechanical coupling behavior of actual soils can
be far from the predictions made by the above two models. In fact,
Santamarina (2003) argues that the impact of skeletal forces by
hte
of saturated soils. Skempton proposed three possible relationships
for effective stress in saturated soils:
1. The true intergranular pressure for the case when

external forces, particle-level forces, and contact-level forces on soil AR0

behavior is different, and mixing both types of forces in a single

algebraic expression in terms of effective stress can lead to (1 a )u c (7.32)
incorrect prediction [e.g., Eq. (7.15) for unsaturated soils and Eq.
(7.30) for soils with measurable interparticle repulsive and attractive in which a c is the ratio of contact area to total cross-sectional
rig

forces]. area.
2. The solid phase is treated as a real solid that has
compressibility C s and shear strength given by
py

i k tan (7.33)

7.10 ASSESSMENT OF TERZAGHI’S EQUATION is an intrinsic friction angle and k is a true

Co

where
cohesion. The following relationships were derived: For
The preceding equations and discussion do not confirm that
shear strength,
Terzaghi’s simple equation is indeed the effective stress that
governs consolidation and strength behavior of soils. However, its
a ctan
usefulness has been established from the experience of many years 1 u (7.34)
of successful application in practice. Skempton (1960b) showed that tan

the Terzaghi equation does not give the true effective stress but
gives an excellent approximation for the case where is the effective stress angle of shearing
resistance. For volume change,

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

186 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

Cs Table 7.1 Compressibility Values for Soil, Rock, and

1 u (7.35)
C Concrete

where C is the soil compressibility. Compressibility a

3. The solid phase is a perfect solid, so that 0 per kN/m 2 10 6
and C s 0. This gives
Material C Cs Cs/ C

u (7.36) Quartzitic sandstone 0.059 0.027 0.46

Quincy granite (30 m deep) 0.076 0.019 0.25
To test the three theories, available data were studied to see Vermont marble 0.18 0.014 0.08
which related to the volume change of a system acted upon by both Concrete (approx.) 0.20 0.025 0.12
a total stress and a pore water pressure according to Dense sand 18 0.028 0.0015
Loose sand 92 0.028 0.0003
London clay (over cons.) 75 0.020 0.00025
V Gosport clay (normally cons.) 600 0.020 0.00003
C (7.37)
V
After Skempton (1960b).
a Compressibilities at p 98 kN/m 2; water C w
and also satisfied the Coulomb equation for drained shear strength d 0.49
10 6 per kN/m 2.

ial
:

d c tan (7.38)

when both a total stress and a pore pressure are acting. It may be
noted that this approach assumes that the Coulomb strength
equation is valid a priori.
The results of Skempton’s analysis showed that Eq. (7.32) was
not a valid representation of effective stress. Equations (7.34) and
(7.35) give the correct results for soils, concrete, and rocks.
dM
r
ate A more rigorous evaluation of the contribution of soil particle
compressibility to effective stress was made by Lade and de Boer
(1997) using a two-phase mixture theory. The volume change of
the soil skeleton can be separated into that due to pore pressure
increment u and that due to the change in confining pressure (

Equation (7.36) accounts well for the behavior of soils but not for u) ( or u). The effective stress
concrete and rock. The reason for this latter observation is that in increment is defined as the stress that produces the
soils C s / C and a c tan / tan same volume change,
approach zero, and,
thus, Eqs. (7.34) and (7.35) reduce to Eq. (7.36). In rock and CV V V CV (0 u)
hte

0 sks sku
concrete, however, C s / C and a c tan / tan are too large to be
neglected. The value of tan / tan CV
u0
u (7.40)
may range from 0.1 to 0.3, a c clearly is not negligible, and C s / C may
range from 0.1 to 0.5 as indicated in Table 7.1.
where V sks is the volume change of soil skeleton due to change in
rig

confining pressure, V sku is the volume change of soil skeleton due to

Effective stress equations of the form of Eqs. (7.32), (7.34),
pore pressure change,
(7.35), and (7.36) can be generalized to the general form (Lade and
V 0 is the initial volume, C is the compressibility of the soil skeleton
de Boer, 1997):
by confining pressure change, and C u is the compressibility of the
py

soil skeleton by pore pressure change. Rearranging Eq. (7.40)

u (7.39)
leads to

where is the fraction of the pore pressure that gives the

Co

effective stress. 5 Different expressions for pro- Cu

1 u (7.41)
posed by several researchers are listed in Table 7.2. C

5 A more general expression has been proposed as
ij ij ij
where ij is the tensor that accounts for the constitutive characteristics of the solid such
as complex kinematics associated with anisotropic elastic materials (Carroll and
Katsube, 1983; Coussy, 1995; Did- wania, 2002).
Lade and de Boer (1997) used this equation to derive an
u,
effective stress equation for granular materials under drained
conditions. Consider a condition in which the total confining
pressure is constant [ (

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 ASSESSMENT OF TERZAGHI’S EQUATION 187

Table 7.2 Expressions for to Define Effective Stress

Pore Pressure Fraction Note Reference

1 Terzaghi (1925b)
n n porosity Biot (1955)
1 ac ac grain contact area per unit area of plane Skempton and Bishop (1954)
tan Equation (7.34) Skempton (1960b)
1 ac
tan
Equation (7.35); for isotropic elastic Biot and Willis (1957), Skempton
1 Cs
C deformation of a porous material; for solid rock with (1960b), Nur and Byerlee (1971), Lade and de
small interconnected pores and low porosity (Lade Boer (1997)
and de Boer, 1997)
Equation (7.43) Suklje (1969); Lade and de Boer (1997)
1 (1 n) C s
C

After Lade and de Boer (1997).

ial
u) 0], but the pore pressure changes by u. 6 The volume change
of soil skeleton caused by change in pore pressure ( V sku) is
attributed solely from the volumetric compression of the solid grains

r
( V gu). Hence, ate
V sku CV
u0
u C ( 1 n)V u s 0
V gu
or

C uC ( 1 n) s (7.42)
dM

where C s is the compressibility of soil grains due to pore pressure

change and n is the porosity. Substituting Eq. (7.42) into (7.41) gives
hte

Cs
1 (1 n) u or
C

Cs
1 (1 n) (7.43)
C
rig

Figure 7.9 shows the variations of with stress for quartz sand and
gypsum sand (Lade and de Boer, Figure 7.9 Variation of with stress for quartz sand and gypsum sand (Lade
1997). For a stress level less than 20 MPa, is essen- and de Boer, 1997).
py

tially one. Thus, Terzaghi’s effective stress equation, while not

rigorously correct, is again shown to be an excellent approximation
in almost all cases for saturated soils (i.e., solid grains and pore Can the effective stress concept also be applied for undrained
Co

fluid are considered to be incompressible compared to soil skeleton conditions where drainage is prevented? That is, when an isotropic
compressibility). total stress load of iso is

applied, is u equal to iso? Using a two-phase mix-

ture theory, the total stress increment ( iso) is sepa-

rated into partial stress increments for the solid phase (

6 An example of this condition is a soil under a seabed, in which the sea depth s) and the fluid phase ( ƒ) ( Oka, 1996). Consid-

varies. This condition is often called the ‘‘unjacked con- dition.’’ ering that the macroscopic volumetric strains by two phases are
equal but of opposite sign for undrained

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

188 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

conditions, Oka (1996) showed that the partial stresses are related to Air
Water (reference
the total stress as follows:
fluid)

θ
C Cs
ƒ iso Solid Surface
( C/n) (1 1/ n)C C s l
(7.44)
[(1/ n) 1] C (C /n) Cs l
iso
( C/n)
s
(1 1/ n)C C s l

Water (reference
where n is the porosity, C is the compressibility of soil skeleton, C s is fluid)

the compressibility of soil particles, and Air

θ
C l is the compressibility of pore fluid.
If the excess pore pressure generated by undrained isotropic
Solid surface ( a)
loading is u, the partial stress increment
for the fluid phase becomes (Oka, 1996) ( b)

ƒ nu (7.45) Water

Air

ial
Combining Eqs. (7.45) and (7.46),
Solid

C Cs

r
u iso (7.46)
C C n(C Cs ) l s
ate ( c)

The multiplier in the right-hand side of the above equation is in Figure 7.10 Wettability of two fluids (water and air) on a solid surface: ( a) contact
fact Bishop’s pore water pressure coefficient B ( Bishop and Eldin, angle less than 90 , ( b) contact angle more than 90 , and ( c) unsaturated
1950). 7 For typical soils ( C s sand with water as the wetting fluid and air as the nonwetting fluid.
dM

1.9 2.7 10 8 m 2 / kN, C l 4.9 10 9

m 2 / kN, C 10 5 10 4 m 2 / kN), so the values of B
are roughly equal to 1. Hence, it can be concluded that Terzaghi’s
effective stress equation is also applicable for undrained conditions
air are the wetting and nonwetting fluid, respectively. 8
for most soils.
The environmental SEM photos in Fig. 5.27 showed that water can
hte

be either wetting or nonwetting fluid depending soil mineralogy.

7.11 WATER–AIR INTERACTIONS IN SOILS The contact angle is a property related to interactions of solid
and two fluids (water and air, in this case).
Wettability refers to the affinity of one fluid for a solid surface in the
rig

presence of a second or third fluid or gas. A measure of wettability

is the contact angle, which was introduced in Eq. (7.9). Figure 7.10
ws
illustrates a drop of the reference liquid (water for Fig.
as
cos (7.47)
aw
py

7.10 a and air for Fig. 7.10 b) resting on a solid surface in the
where as is the interfacial tension between air and solid,
presence of another fluid (air for Fig. 7.10 a and water for 7.10 b). The
interface between the two fluids meets the solid surface at a contact ws is the interfacial tension between water and solid, and aw

is the interfacial tension between

Co

angle . If the angle is less than 90 , the reference fluid is referred to as

the wetting fluid for a given solid surface. If the angle is greater than
90 , the reference liquid is referred to as the nonwetting phase. The
figure shows that water and
7 A similar equation for B value has been proposed by Lade and de Boer (1997).
8 Some contaminated sites contain non-aqueous-phase liquids (NAPLs). In general,
NAPLS can be assumed to be nonwetting with respect to water since the soil
particles are in general primarily strongly water-wet. Above the water table, it is
usually appropriate to assume that the water is the wetting fluid with respect to
NAPL and that NAPL is a wetting fluid with respect to air, implying that the
wettability order is water NAPL air. Below the water table, water is the wetting fluid
and NAPL is the nonwetting fluid.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 WATER–AIR INTERACTIONS IN SOILS 189

air and water. The microscopic scale distribution of water and air is
1 Dune Sand 2 Loamy Sand 3
illustrated in Fig. 7.10 c, whereby it is assumed that water is wetting Calcareous Fine Sandy Loam 4
the grain surfaces. Calcareous Loam 5 Silt Loam Derived
10 6
The aforementioned discussion on wettability and contact angle from Loess 6 Young Oligotrophous Peat
Soil 7 Marine Clay
assumes static water drops on solid surfaces. It has been observed
10 5
for movement of water relative to soil that the ‘‘dynamic’’ contact
angle formed by the receding edge of a water droplet is generally
10 4

Matric suction u a – u w ( kPa)

less than the angle formed by its advancing edge.
67

Matric suction ( or capillary pressure) refers to the pressure 10 3 5

discontinuity across a curved interface separating two fluids. This

3 4
pressure difference exists because of the interfacial tension present 10 2
in the fluid– fluid interface. Matric suction is a property that causes
2
porous media to draw in the wetting fluid and repel the nonwetting 10 1
fluid and is defined as the difference between the nonwetting fluid
1
pressure and the wetting fluid pressure. For a two-phase system 10 0
consisting of water and air, the matric suction

10- 1
is 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

ial
Volumetric Water Content θ w
u n
u w (7.48)
Figure 7.11 Soil–water characteristic curves for some Dutch soils (from

r
Koorevaar et al., 1983; copied from Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993).
where u n is the pressure of the nonwetting fluid (air) and u w is the ate
pressure of the wetting fluid (water).
Assuming that the soil pores have a cylindrical shape, like a
bundle of capillary tubes as illustrated in Fig 7.3 b, the interface
between two liquids in each tube forms a subsection of a sphere. processes do not follow the same curve and the volumetric water
content versus matric suction curves exhibit hysteresis during
dM

The capillary pressure is then related to the tube radius, contact

angle, and the interfacial tension between the two liquids. The
pressure drop across the interface is directly proportional to the
interfacial tension and inversely proportional to the radius of
curvature. It follows that higher air pressure is required for air to
enter water-saturated fine-grained than coarse-grained materials.
hte
cycles of drainage and wetting as shown in Fig. 7.12 a. One cause of
hysteresis is the existence of ‘‘ink bottle neck’’ pores at the
microscopic scale as shown in Fig. 7.12 b. Larger water-filled pores
can remain owing to the inability of water to escape through smaller
openings below in the case of drainage or above in the case of

evaporation. Another cause is irreversible change in soil fabric and

shrinkage during drying.
Soil contains a range of different pore sizes, which will drain at
different capillary pressure values. This leads to a soil–water
characteristic relationship in which the matric suction is plotted The curves in Fig. 7.11 have two characteristic points—the air
rig

against the volumetric water content (or sometimes water entry pressure a and residual volumetric water content
saturation ratio) such as shown in Fig. 7.11. 9 The curves are often r as defined in Fig. 7.12 a. The

determined during air invasion into a previously watersaturated soil. entry pressure is the matric suction at which the air begins to enter
py

As the volumetric water content decreases, as a result of drainage
or evaporation, the matric suction increases. When water infiltrates
into the soil (wetting or imbibition), the conditions reverse, with the
volumetric water content increasing and matric suction decreasing.
Co
the pores and the pores become interconnected (Corey, 1994). At
this point, the air permeability becomes greater than zero. Corey
(1994) also introduced the term ‘‘displacement pressure’’ ( d

Usually drainage and wetting in Fig. 7.12 b) and defined it as the matric suction at which the first
water desaturation occurs during a drainage cycle. 10 The entry
pressure is always slightly

9 The soil–water characteristic curve is referred to by a variety of names depending 10 For the Dense NAPL–water two-phase system (often Dense NAPL is the nonwetting
on different disciplines. They include moisture re- tention, soil–water retention, fluid and water is the wetting fluid), the displace- ment pressure may be important to
specific retention, and moisture char- acteristic. examine the potential of DNAPL invading into a noncontaminated water-filled porous
media.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

190 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

Scanning
Curve
Scanning

Suction
Hysteresis
Curve

Initial drainage Draining

Curve

ψa
ψd
Main Drying Curve
Main Wetting
Curve

θr
Water Content

Wetting
θ r Residual Water Content

ψ a Air Entry Value

ψ d Displacement pressure

ial
( b)
( a)

Figure 7.12 Hysteresis of a soil–water characteristic curve: ( a) effect of hysteresis and ( b)

r
ink bottle effect: a possible physical explanation for the hysteresis.
ate
greater than the displacement pressure because pore throats algebraic formulas have been proposed to fit the measured
smaller than the maximum must be penetrated to establish air soil-water characteristic relations. The most popular ones are (a)
dM

connectivity. The air entry pressure is much greater for fine-grained the Brooks–Corey (1966) equation:
than for coarse-grained soils because of their smaller pore sizes.

m
when d (7.49)
Residual water content r is defined as the water
content that cannot be further reduced by the increase in matric 1/
r
hte

suction. At this stage, the water phase becomes essentially d

when d (7.50)
r
discontinuous and the regime changes from the funicular to m

pendular state, as described in Section 7.4. However, this does not

where m is the volumetric water content at full saturation and
mean that the soil cannot have a degree of saturation less that the
is the curve-fitting parameter called
residual saturation because residual water can continue to
rig

the pore size distribution index and (b) the van Genuchten equation
evaporate. Hence, it is important to note that the residual saturation
(1980):
defined here is a mathematical fitting parameter without a specific
quantitative value. 1/m 1m
py

r
0 1 (7.51)
m r

The shape of the soil–water characteristic curve depends on

many factors, including the grain size distribution, soil fabric, the where 0 and m are curve-fitting parameters.
Co

contact angle, and the interfacial tension [see Eq. (7.11)]. If the Various modifications have been proposed to these equations to
material is uniform with a narrow range of pore sizes, the curve has include behaviors such as hysteresis, nonwetting fluid trapping, and
three distinct parts: a straight part up to the air entry pressure, a three-phase conditions.
relatively horizontal middle part, and an end part that is almost
vertical (soil 1 in Fig. 7.11). On the other hand, if the material is well
graded, the curve is smoother (soils 3, 4, and 5 in Fig. 7.11). The
7.12 EFFECTIVE STRESS IN UNSATURATED SOILS
capillary pressure increases gradually as the water saturation
decreases and the middle part is not horizontal. Many
Although it seems clear that the volume change and strength
behavior of partly saturated soils are con-

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 EFFECTIVE STRESS IN UNSATURATED SOILS 191

trolled by an effective stress that is not the same as the total stress, Limitations in Bishop’s equation were highlighted by Jennings
the appropriate formulation for the effective stress is less certain and Burland (1962) in their experiments investigating the volume
than for a fully saturated soil. As noted earlier, Bishop (1960) change characteristics of unsaturated soils. Figure 7.14 shows that
proposed Eq. (7.15) (assuming the oedometer compression curve of air-dry silt falls above that of
i ): saturated silt. Also, as shown in the figure, some airdry samples
were consolidated at four different pressures (200, 400, 800, and
u ( ua u w) (7.52) 1600 kPa) and then soaked.
a

The term u a is the net total stress. The term

ua u w represents the soil water suction that adds to the effective 0.84
stress since u w is negative. Thus, the Bishop equation is appealing
intuitively because negative pore pressures are known to increase
strength and decrease compressibility. Using Eq. (7.52), the shear
0.80
strength of unsaturated soil can be expressed as

0.76
{( u a) ( ua u w)} tan (7.53)

ial
Void Ratio e
where is the effective friction angle of the soil. However, 0.72
difficulties in the evaluation of the parameter Applied Pressure Initially Soaked Test
Constant Void Ratio Soaked at Constant
, its dependence on saturation ( 1 for saturated

r
Air Dry (8 specimens) Soaked at
soils and 0 for dry soils), and that the relationship ate 0.68
between and saturation is soil dependent, as shown in Fig. 7.13 a, all
introduce problems in the application of Eq. (7.53). Since water
saturation is related to matric suction as described in Section 7.11, it
0.64
is possible that
10 100 1000
dM

depends on matric suction as shown in Fig. 7.13 b.

Nonetheless, because of the complexity in determining
, the attempt to couple total stress and suction together into a
single equivalent effective stress is uncertain (Toll, 1990).
hte
Applied Pressure (kPa )
Figure 7.14 Oedometer compression curves of unsaturated silty soils (after
Jennings and Burland, 1962 in Leroueil and Hight, 2002).

1. Compacted
– 0.55
Boulder Clay
rig

2. Compacted Shale χ = ( u a – u w)
( u a – u w)
3. Breadhead silt
4. Silt
Coefficient χ

5. Silty clay
Coefficient χ
py

6. Sterrebeek silt
7. White clay
Co

(u a_ u w)b = Air Entry Value

Degree of Saturation S (%) (u a_ u w)/( u a_ u w)b

( a) ( b)

Figure 7.13 Variation of parameter with the degree of water saturation S r for different soils: ( a) versus water
saturation (after Gens, 1996) and ( b) versus suction (after Khalili and Khabbaz, 1998).

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

192 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

The void ratio decreased upon soaking and the final state was very in which a and b are material parameters that may also depend on
close to the compression curve of the saturated silt. Additional tests degree of saturation and stress. For example, Fredlund et al. (1978)
in which constant volume during soaking was maintained by propose the following equation:
adjusting the applied load were also done. Again, after equilibrium,
the state of soaked samples was close to the compression curve of
the saturated silt. Soaking reduces the suction and, hence, ( u a) tan ( ua u w) tan b
(7.55)
Bishop’s effective stress decreases. This decrease in effective
stress should be associated with an increase in void ratio. where b is the angle defining the rate of increase in shear strength
However, the experi- mental observations gave the opposite trend with respect to soil suction. An example of this parameter as a
(i.e., a de- crease in void ratio is associated with irreversible function of water content, friction angle, and matric suction is given
compression). The presence of meniscus water lenses in the soil by Fredlund et al. (1995).
before wetting was stabilizing the soil struc- ture, which is not taken
into account in Bishop’s equa- tion (7.52). Similarly, the change in void ratio e of an unsaturated soil can be
given by (Fredlund, 1985)

a (t u )a a (u m a
u w) (7.56)
An alternative approach is to describe the shear
strength/deformation and volume change behavior of unsaturated where a t is the coefficient of compressibility with respect to changes
soil in terms of the two independent stress variables in u a and a m is the coefficient of

ial
u a and u a u w ( Coleman, 1962; Bishop compressibility with respect to changes in capillary pressure. A
and Blight, 1963; Fredlund and Morgenstern, 1977; Fredlund, 1985; similar equation, but with different coefficients, can be written for
Toll, 1990, Fredlund and Rahardjo, 1993; Tarantino et al., 2000). change in water content. For a partly saturated soil, change in

r
Figure 7.15 shows the results of isotropic compression tests of water content and change in void ratio are not directly proportional.
ate
compacted ka- olin. Different compression curves are obtained for
constant suction conditions, and relative effects of The two stress variables, or their modifications that include
porosity and water saturation, have been used in the development
u a and u a u w on volume change behavior can be of elasto-plastic-based constitutive models for unsaturated soils
observed. Furthermore, the preconsolidation pressure (or yield
dM

(e.g., Alonso et al., 1990; Wheeler and Sivakumar, 1995; Houlsby,

stress) increases with suction.
1997; Gallipoli et al., 2003). The choice of stress variables is still in
On this basis, the dependence of shear strength on stress is given
debate; further details on this issue can be found in Gens (1996),
by equations of the form
Wheeler and Karube (1996), Wheeler et al. (2003), and Jardine et
al. (2004).
a( u a) b(u a
u w) (7.54)
hte

Bishop’s parameter in Eq. (7.52) is a scalar quantity, but

microscopic interpretation of water distribution in pores can lead to
an argument that is directional
1.25
Preconsolidation dependent (Li, 2003; Molenkamp and Nazemi,
pressure
rig

2003). 11 During the desaturation process, the number of soil

1.20
particles under a funicular condition decreases, and they change to
a pendular condition with further drying. For particles in the funicular
1.15
region, the suction pressure acts all around the soil particles like the
py
Void Ratio e

water pressure as illustrated in Fig. 7.4 a. Hence, the effect is

1.10
u a _ u w ( kPa) isotropic even at the microscopic level. However, once the
300 kPa 200
microscopic water distribution of a particle changes to the pendular
1.05
condition, the capillary forces only act on a particle at locations
Co

kPa 100 kPa 0

Curves are Averages of where water bridge forms and the contribution to the interparticle
1.00 Several Tests kPa
forces becomes

0.95
25 50 100 200 400

σ _ u a ( kPa)
11 A microstructural analysis by Li (2003) suggests the following ef- fective stress
Figure 7.15 Isotropic compression tests of compacted kaolin (after Wheeler
expression:
and Sivakumar, 1995 in Leroueil and Hight,
2002). ij ij
u a ij ij
( ua u w)

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

 QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 193

more or less point wise, as shown in Fig. 7.4 b. As described in
Section 7.3, the magnitude of capillary force depends on the size of
the water bridge and the separation of the two particles, and hence,
the contact force distribution in the particle assembly becomes
dependent not only on pore size location and distribution but also
on the relative locations of particles to one another (or soil fabric). It
is therefore possible that the distribution of the pendular-type
capillary forces becomes directional dependent.
In clayey soils, water is attracted to clay surface by
electrochemical forces, creating large matric suction. Although u w
u 0 is used in practice, the actual pore
pressure u acting at interparticle contacts may be different from u 0, as
discussed in Section 7.9. The contribution of the long-range
interparticle forces to mechanical behavior of unsaturated clayey
soils remains to be fully evaluated.
in the pendular regime) in the macroscopic effective stress
equations.
QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
1. A sand in the ground has porosity n of 0.42 and
specific gravity G s of 2.6. It is assumed that these values remain
constant throughout the depth. The water table is 4 m deep and
the groundwater is under hydrostatic condition. The
suction–volumetric water content relation of the sand is given
by soil 1 in Fig. 7.11.
a. Calculate the saturated unit weight and dry unit
weight.
b. Evaluate the unit weights at different saturation
ratios S w.
c. Plot the hydrostatic pore pressures with depth

ial
down to a depth of 10 m and evaluate the saturation ratios
above the water table.
7.13 CONCLUDING COMMENTS
d. Along with the hydrostatic pore pressure plot,

r
The concepts in this chapter provide insight into the meanings of sketch the vertical total stress with depth using the unit
intergranular pressure, effective stress, and pore water pressure
and the factors controlling their values. Because soils behave as
ate weights calculated in parts (a) and (b).
e. Estimate the vertical effective stress with depth.
particulate materials and not as continua, knowledge of these Use Bishop’s equation (7.52) with S w. Com-
stresses and of the factors influencing them is a necessary ment on the result.
prerequisite to the understanding and quantification of
dM

2. Repeat the calculations done in Question 1 with soil

compressibility, deformation, and strength in constitutive
5 in Fig. 7.11. The specific gravity of the soil is
relationships for behavior. Various interparticle forces have been
2.65. Comment on the results by comparing them to the results
identified and their possible effects on soil behavior are highlighted.
from Question 1.

3. Using Eq. (7.3), estimate the tensile strength of a

hte

The effective stress in a soil is a function of its state, which soil with different values of tensile strengths of cement, sphere,
depends on the water content, density, and soil structure. These and interface. The soil has a particle diameter of 0.2 mm and
factors are, in turn, influenced by the composition and ambient the void ratio is 0.7. Assume k/ ( 1
conditions. The relationships between soil structure and effective e) 3.1. Consider the following two
stress are developed further in Chapter 8. Chemical, electrical, and cases: (a) 0.0075 mm and 5 and (b)
rig

thermal influences on effective pressures and fluid pressures in 0.025 and 30 . Comment on the results.
soils have not been considered in the developments in this chapter.
4. Compute the following contact forces at different
They may be significant, however, as regards soil structure stability
particle diameters d ranging from 0.1 to 10 mm. Comment on
fluid flow, volume change, and strength properties. They are
py

the results in relation to the effective and intergranular pressure

analyzed in more detail in subsequent chapters.
described in Section 7.9.
a. Weight of the sphere, W –61
Gs w d 3, where G s
Co

An understanding of the components of pore water pressure is is the specific gravity (say 2.65) and w is the unit weight of
important to the proper measurement of pore pressure and water.
interpretation of the results. Inclusion of the effect of pore water b. Contact force by external load, N d 2 , where
suction and air or gas pressure on the mechanical behavior of is the external confining pressures applied. The
unsaturated soils requires modification of the effective stress equation is approximate for a simple cubic packing of equal
equation used for saturated soils. Complications arise from the size spheres (Santamarina,
difficulty in the choice of stress variables and in treatment of 2003). Consider two cases, (i) 1 kPa (
contact-level forces (i.e., capillary forces depth of 0.1 m) and (ii) 100 kPa ( depth
of 10 m).

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com

194 7 EFFECTIVE, INTERGRANULAR, AND TOTAL STRESS

c. Long-range van der Waals attraction force, A
A h d/ ( 24 t 2), where A h is the Hamaker constant (Section 6.12)
and t is the separation between particles (Israelachvili, 1992,
from Santamarina,
2003). Use A h 10 20 N-m and t 30 A˚ .
5. Discuss why it is difficult to measure suction using
a piezometer-type tensiometer for long-term moni- toring of pore
pressures. Describe the advantages of other indirect
measurement techniques such as po- rous ceramic and dielectric
sensors.
7. Give a microscopic interpretation for why an un-
saturated soil can collapse and decrease its volume upon wetting
as shown in Fig. 7.14 even though the Bishop’s effective stress
decreases.
8. Clay particles in unsaturated soils often aggregate
creating matrix pores and intraaggregate pores. Air exists in the
matrix pores, but the intraaggregate pores are often saturated
by strong water attraction to clay surfaces. The total potential of
unsaturated soil can be extended from Eq. (7.19) to
g

6. For the following cases, compare the effective m s where p is the gas pressure poten-
p,

stresses calculated by the conventional Terzaghi’s equation and tial. 12 Discuss the values of each component of the above
by the modified equation (7.39) with values presented in Fig. equation in the matrix pores and the intraaggregate pores.
7.8. Discuss the possible errors associated with effective stress
estimation by Terzaghi’s equation.

This was proposed by a Review Panel in the Symposium on Mois- ture Equilibrium
a. Pile foundation at a depth of 20 m.
12

and Moisture Changes in Soils Beneath Covered Areas in 1965.

b. A depth of 5 km from the sea level where the

ial
subsea soil surface is 1 km deep.

r
ate
dM
hte
rig
py
Co

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons Retrieved from: www.knovel.com