The water retention curve for materials with deformable particles: Experimental study and predicting

Abstract

One of the fundamental hydraulic characteristics in unsaturated materials is the water retention curve (WRC). It relates the suction evolution on the water content or on the degree of saturation. Its experimental determination is often difficult and requires specific techniques. In literature the subject was recently investigated. However, the materials which have been studied are, in general,constituted by undeformable particles material, such as sandy or silty soils. Moreover, a large number of materials are constituted by deformable particles. The purpose of this study is to present the experimental water retention curve for deformable materials as swelling clay and perlite. Then, a model based on the particle-size distribution curve is proposed. The fundamental idea is deduced from the Paris Model. The simulations of the experimental results have been done and particularly the material deformability degree effect on the corresponding WRC is quantified. Finally, the good agreement between the predicted WRC and the experimental one shows the practical useful of the proposal model.