Effects of void ratio and grain size distribution on water retention properties of compacted infilled joint soils

The effects of the initial void ratio and the grain size distribution (GSD) on the water retention properties of a compacted infilled joint soils from Beihetan (China) were investigated. Three initial void ratios (0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) and three GSDs were selected based on the in situ soil states. A total of nine drying water retention curves (WRCs) was established with the filter paper method. The microstructure of the specimens was also studied to better understand the water retention properties. It was found that the denser samples underwent smaller volume changes, and that the volumetric strain increased with the increasing clay size fraction. The void ratio had a significant effect on the WRCs in terms of the degree of saturation; however, the WRCs were independent of the void ratio in terms of the gravimetric water content. In terms of the degree of saturation, the WRCs were seen to shift upwards with the increase in clay size fraction, indicating an increase in the water retention capacity. The results from mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) tests revealed that the difference in the inter-aggregate pores is the main reason for the different shapes of the WRCs. Moreover, the infilled joint soils with lower void ratios and coarser particles were found to be more suitable for MIP-based evaluations of water retention properties.