Abstract

MENDEZ-HERRADA, Iliané  and  PEREZ-REA, María de la Luz. Methodology to find the volumetric deformation of an expansive soil with the least amount of tests possible. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2022, vol.23, n.2, e1892.  Epub Nov 04, 2022. ISSN 2594-0732.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fi.25940732e.2022.23.2.015.

The volumetric deformation is a fundamental parameter for the calculation of the settlements of certain types of soils within a geotechnical study, particularly of clay soils with great potential for expansion. The aim of this work is to find a methodology that allows us to reach this value with the fewest possible tests, while maintaining its effectiveness and precision. For this purpose, an elastoplastic constitutive model developed by Verdín Montes (Montes & González, 2018). Because this model is only applicable to clayey soils or with a high content of fines, the methodology is also conditioned to this type of soils, so the information on its classification must first be available. The implementation of a model for unsaturated soils in which the effective stress variable allows to simplify the constitutive equations, represents the unification of all the theories of soil mechanics in a single equation. That is why this model offers great advantages in the face of the deformations that expansive soils present. To find the volumetric deformation, the following tests must be carried out in an orderly manner: Calculation of suction, degree of saturation and elaboration of the Water-Soil Retention Curve, calculation of the initial and maximum void ratio, determination of the general parameters k and l, calculation of the minimum void ratio, calculation of the effective stresses using the equation proposed in this article, calculation of the relative density, calculation of the expansion index and the expansion-collapse index, and finally the determination of the volumetric deformation using the equation described.

Keywords : Volumetric deformation; soil; clays; elastoplastic model; settlements; effective stresses.