A new isotropic cell for studying the thermo-mechanical behavior of unsaturated expansive clays

Anh Minh A.M. Tang (1) , Yu-Jun Cui (1) , Nathalie Barnel (2)

1 CERMES - Centre d'enseignement et de recherche en mécanique des sols
2 EDF - EDF

This paper presents a new suction-temperature controlled isotropic cell that can be used to study the thermo-mechanical behavior of unsaturated expansive clays. The vapor equilibrium technique is used to control the soil suction; the temperature of the cell is controlled using a thermostat bath. The isotropic pressure is applied using a volume/pressure controller that is also used to monitor the volume change of soil specimen. Preliminary experimental results showed good performance of the cell.

Mots clés: Unsaturated soil; isotropic cell; suction-temperature control; thermo-mechanical behavior; expansive soil.; expansive soil

Domaines: Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]

Anh Minh A.M. Tang, Yu-Jun Cui, Nathalie Barnel. A new isotropic cell for studying the thermo-mechanical behavior of unsaturated expansive clays. Geotechnical Testing Journal, 2007, 30 (5), pp.341-348. ⟨10.1520/GTJ100623⟩. ⟨hal-00177240⟩