Characteristics of the unsaturated Soils of Peruvian humid tropics

This paper shows the results of an program conducted in tropical soils of the Peruvian Amazon Plain for over 30 years. This information has formed a database that has collected 1,318 samples and tests that establish the characteristics of these unsaturated in all basins that make up the tropical region of Peru soils, confirming that its shear strength characteristics depend on geotechnical factors, degree of weathering, location within the soil profile and the procedures performed before and after the tests conducted. Results reported geotechnical occurrences of young residual soils indicating substantial similarity and differences in stress and deformation behavior. The analysis results of the SWCC curves shows that these unsaturated Peruvian tropical soils can be grouped into broad ranges similar trend as clays (A), silty clays (B) and sand (C) ensuring an overview of geotechnical characteristics that give a real treatment in the areas of strength and deformability of saprolitic soil being applied to large engineering projects developed successfully in the lowland rainforest of Peru, which is a very unique region where conditions of climate and geological formation are very difficult.