Comparison of field measured and predicted soil suction and volume changes in expansive soil

Soil suction is considered one of the important factors in the field of geotechnical engineering, it can be used to describe the moisture movement and the associated volume change in unsaturated soils. This paper presents the results of a three-dimensional numerical simulation of field measured soil suction and volume changes (shrink/heave) in expansive soil. The model employed was developed by El-Garhy (1999) for predicting soil moisture changes in terms of soil suction and the resulting volume changes (shrink/heave) throughout expansive soil under a covered area with respect to time. The model was validated against field measurements over a 60-month period of time. Good correlation with reported field measurements of soil suction and associated volume changes (shrink/heave) is achieved.