Development of a strain/temperature/suction-controlled true triaxial testing device for modeling unsaturated soil behavior under multi-axial stress states

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A true triaxial testing apparatus will be developed to test 3-in per side, cubical specimens of unsaturated soil under simultaneous strain-, temperature- and suction-controlled conditions. The equipment will be a mixed-boundary type of device, with the specimen seated on top of an arrangement of nine 5-bar ceramic disks and between five flexible membranes on the remaining sides of the cube. The device will feature two independent pore-air and pore-water pressure control/monitoring systems. Several specimens of silty sand will be subjected to a wide range of simple-to-complex stress paths for calibration and validation of the proposed device. Suction states in the specimens will be induced via the axis-translation technique. Successful completion of this development effort will considerably advance the existing knowledge and fundamental understanding of the stress-strain-strength behavior of unsaturated soils. The device will be the first of its kind to be ever implemented at any academic setup in the US, and will constitute a major state-of-the-art instrumentation for research and integrated research/education activities at UTA in the geomechanics discipline. Development of this equipment is also aimed at promoting partnerships between academic researchers and private instrument developers interested in the advancement of the unsaturated soil mechanics discipline.