Some investigations about the tensile strength and the desiccation process of unsaturated clay

The current paper presents an investigation on the tensile strength of unsaturated clay, and a discussion about the significant differences between the behaviours of compacted soils and those of the completely remoulded soils. The adapted experimental device based on the shear box for the measurement of the tensile strength is also presented. In the tensile tests, stress-strain characteristics are measured using high precision transducers and electronic data acquisition. The equipment is capable of measuring tensile strengths of soil (about 10 MPa). Moreover, a new model to predict cracks is presented in 3D. This analytical model for the prediction of tensile strength, as a function of suction and porosity, is given.