EAGER: Use of Results from the Undrain Triaxial Tests to Model Elasto-plastic Behavior for Unsaturated soils: A Feasibility Study

EARLY概念探索性研究（EAGER）赠款奖为探索使用不排水试验表征非饱和土的本构建模的可行性提供资金。本研究主要探讨UTT试验过程中应力局部化和内部排水对土样吸力分布的影响，并提出消除这种影响的有效方法。研究的目标将通过收集和分析现有文献，设备开发，实验测试和本构建模的数据来实现。这项探索性的研究是一个初步的研究，PI的努力，发展简单可靠的方法来表征和模拟完全耦合的弹塑性行为的非饱和土。 如果成功，它将减少三个数量级的非饱和土特性所需的测试时间，更可靠的测量，更有代表性的土壤行为，更好地了解非饱和土的本构行为。试验结果为解决非饱和土力学领域中一些基本问题的争论提供了坚实的试验依据。这项拟议的研究将为快速，实用，更全面和可靠的土壤行为表征开辟新的和令人兴奋的大门。它有可能改变岩土工程以外的耦合问题的材料测试和表征的方式。

This EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award provides funding for exploring the feasibility of using undrained tests to characterize unsaturated soils for the purpose of constitutive modeling. This exploratory research will mainly evaluate the influences of stress localizations and subsequent internal drainage on suction distributions of soil specimens during UTT tests and develop effective methods to eliminate such effects. The objectives of the research will be achieved through collecting and analyzing data from existing literature, equipment development, experimental testing, and constitutive modeling. This exploratory research is a preliminary study of PI's effort on developing simple and reliable methods to characterize and model fully-coupled elasto-plastic behavior for unsaturated soils. If successful, it will reduce the testing time required to characterize behavior for unsaturated soils by three orders of magnitude with more reliable measurement, more representative soil behavior, and better understanding of constitutive behavior of unsaturated soil. The test results provide solid experimental basis for resolving arguments regarding some fundamental questions in the field of unsaturated soil mechanics. This proposed research will open up new and exciting doors for fast, practical and more comprehensive and reliable soil behavior characterization. It has the potential to transform the ways of material testing and characterization for coupled problems beyond geotechnical engineering.