Volume change behaviour of a swelling soil compacted at different initial states

This paper presents a simple approach to model the hydro-mechanical behaviour of swelling soils at different initial states during successive wetting and drying cycles. This model was developed based on the experimental results obtained for an expansive bentonite/silt mixture compacted at three different initial dry densities representing loose, intermediate and dense states.The parameters of the simplified model were initially fitted based on the results obtained for the loose and dense samples and then used to estimate the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of the intermediate samples. Generally, the model prediction produced a satisfactory correspondence with the experimental results.

► A simplified approach was developed for the loose, intermediate and dense swelling soils. ► The cyclic hydro-mechanical behaviour of the swelling soils is independent of their initial state. ► The Elastic State Surface and the Saturation Curve can predict the cyclic behavior.