Variability in the measured soil‒water characteristic curve with respect to the numbers of specimens

Abstract

The soil‒water characteristic curve (SWCC) defines the relationship between the amount of water in soil and soil suction. The SWCC is commonly used to estimate the hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) and the shear strength function (SSF). Therefore, an accurate determination of the SWCC is crucial for implementing the principles of unsaturated soil mechanics. The SWCC is commonly determined from a limited number of experimental data because SWCC measurements are time consuming and costly. As a result, the minimum number of required soil specimens is crucial for a SWCC test when considering the accuracy of the determined SWCC and the experimental expenses. In this study, both engineered from sand and kaolin mixtures and residual soils from Bukit Timah Formation in Singapore are selected to prepare soil specimens for SWCC measurements. The SWCCs obtained from the specimens with engineered soil are consistent, while those from specimens with residual soil are slightly scattered. This indicates that one specimen is sufficient to determine the SWCC for engineered soil samples, while a minimum of two specimens should be prepared for the determination of SWCC for residual soil samples from Bukit Timah Formation.