Constitutive and experimental modelling of the geotechnical degradation of compacted soils when exposed to environmental actions

天气驱动过程（如循环干湿）对非饱和土的影响已成为岩土工程研究的一个重要领域。非饱和土被用作近地表填充物，大量用于建设基础设施边坡和路堤。这些斜坡和路堤表面附近的土壤容易因气候引起的过程而发生机械退化，从而影响基础设施的性能。这个研究项目将进一步探索土壤在周期性干湿作用下的恶化，这一点目前还没有完全了解。对非饱和土壤的水力学行为的文献的初步审查表明，进一步的实验室表征将有利于现有的知识体系。此外，关键状态参数的先进实验室表征将对改进和完善现有的完全耦合弹塑性本构模型（如格拉斯哥耦合模型）有价值。

The effects of weather-driven processes such as cyclical wetting and drying on compacted unsaturated soils has become a critical area of research in geotechnical engineering. Unsaturated soils are used as near-surface fill materials and are heavily utilised to construct infrastructure slopes and embankments. The soil near the surface of these slopes and embankments is prone to mechanical degradation through climate-induced processes that influence the infrastructure's performance. This research project will explore further the deterioration of soils subjected to cyclical wetting and drying, which are not yet fully under-stood. A preliminary review of the literature focused on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils has shown that further laboratory characterisation would benefit the existing body of knowledge. In addition, advanced laboratory characterisation of critical state parameters will be valuable in im-proving and refining existing fully coupled elasto-plastic constitutive models such as the Glasgow Coupled Model.