1. Introduction. Engineering importance of unsaturated soils: Foundations, pavements, terreplenes, earth dams, slope stability, clay barriers, radioactive waste storage. 2. Natural soils. Arid climates. Residual soils. Geotechnical behavior. Foundation problems. Basic properties of water. Properties of vapor. Properties of air and the dissolved air. Psychrometric law .Total, capillary and osmotic suction. Water potential. Retention curve.

Specific Objectives

Framing the engineering significance of the behavior of unsaturated soils. Studying the origin of the soil and the interaction between environmental conditions and the distribution of soil moisture. Study basic soil components and their physical properties. Know the fundamental aspects of the behavior of unsaturated soils as psicrométrica law, capillary, suction components, water potential, water retention curve and relative permeability.

Dedication

Techniques for measuring suction. Tensiometers, filter paper, psychrometers, resistive methods, TDR. Techniques suction control. Suction plate. Translation axis techniques. Osmotic techniques. techniques for relative humidity control. Controlled suction equipment. Oedometer, isotropic and triaxial cells. Direct shear. Suction and water content measurement "in situ"

Specific Objectives

Review and analyze of the different techniques of control and measurement of suction. Application of techniques suction control to perform mechanical laboratory tests. Know the techniques for measurement of suction and volumetric water content "in situ".

Dedication

First test

Specific Objectives

Doing exercises to determine the level of knowledge attained

Dedication

Volumetric behavior of unsaturated soils. Influence of suction, loading under constant suction or water content . Suction changes under load. Collapse. Increase in suction. Other stress paths. Humidity cycles. Synthesis. Effect of deviatoric stress. Suction cycles. Unsaturated soil stiffness (small deformation). Influence of suction. Triaxial and resonant column tests. Nonlinear elastic models. Unsaturated soil strength. Failure envelope. Proposed models. Effective stresses in saturated and unsaturated soils. Bishop's proposal. Work due to deformation and changes in water content. Set of significant stresses. Alternatives A basic elastoplastic model for unsaturated soils (BBM Model Basic Model of Barcelona). Elastic-plastic model for isotropic states of stress. Triaxial extension states. Generalized stress formulation (3D). Model parameters. Critical models and BBM. Comparing model predictions with experimental results.

Specific Objectives

Knowing unsaturated response against changes paths with suction and isotropic load floor. Analysis of reversible and irreversible changes due to suction or tension strains. Knowing the effect of suction on the soil response under shear stresses. To characterize the strength of unsaturated soil. Knowing the dificulatdes to generalize the concept of effective stress in unsaturated soils. Knowing the alternatives to define the generalized stress state in the soil. Knowing the formulation of Barcelona basic model (BBM). Compare model predictions with the actual behavior of the soil. Know the limitations of BBM.

Dedication

Compaction principles. Properties of compacted soils. Microstructure of compacted soils. Constitutive modeling. Practical criteria. Foundations on compacted soils.

Specific Objectives

Knowing the properties of compacted soils. Highlight the role of the microstructure. Knowing a constitutive model. Learn practical applications.

Dedication

Behavior of expansive soils. Basic mechanisms of expansion: microstructure of expansive soils. Qualitative behavior of soil following common test paths. Foundations on swelling soils. Modeling of expansive soils. Thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling. Modeling clay barriers in radioactive waste repositories.

Specific Objectives

Knowing the mineralogy and expansion mechanisms of expansive soils. Knowing the hydro-mechanical behavior of expansive soils. Knowing techniques of foundations on expansive soils. Present real cases of modeling of the behavior of clay barriers in radioactive waste disposals.

Dedication

Second tets

Dedication