Shear behavior of an unsaturated soil-steel interface from direct shear tests

Abstract

The interface between an unsaturated soil and a steel plate is a thin layer of soil through which stresses can be transferred from the steel plate to the soil and vice versa. This interface layer exists in numerous geotechnical projects such as pile foundation, soil nail, retaining wall and underground buried pipes etc. In this paper, the behavior of the interface between unsaturated Completely Decomposed Granite (CDG) soil and a steel plate is examined by conducting a series of laboratory experiments, using the modified suction controlled direct shear apparatus. The test results demonstrate the successful implementation of the device. The main observations are described along with the experimental results.