Model for predicting the variation of shear stress in unsaturated soils during strain-softening

Several of the geotechnical structures constructed with unsaturated soils undergo a large deformation prior to reaching failure conditions (e.g., progressive failure of a soil slope). During this process, the shear stress in soils typically increases initially and then reduces with an increase in the shear strain. The prediction of the stress-strain relationship is critical for reasonable interpretation of the mechanical behavior of those geo-structures that undergo large deformation. This paper introduces a model based on the disturbed state concept (DSC) to predict the variation of shear stress in unsaturated soils during the strain-softening process under consolidated drained triaxial compression condition. In this model, the apparent stress-strain relationship is formulated as a weighted average of a hyperbolic hardening response extending the pre-peak state stress-strain curve and a linear response extending the critical state stress-strain curve with an assumed disturbance function as the weight. The prediction procedure is described in detail and the proposed model is validated using several sets of published data on unsaturated soils varying from coarse- to fine-grained soils. Finally, a comprehensive error analysis is undertaken based on an index of agreement approach.