The field of experimental unsaturated soil mechanics has grown considerably over the last decade. In the laboratory and in the field, innovative techniques have been introduced into mechanical, hydraulic, and geo-environmental testing. Normally, this information is widely dispersed throughout journals and conference proceedings and it is often difficult to identify suitable equipment and instrumentation for research or professional purposes. In this volume, however, the authors bring together the latest research in laboratory and field testing techniques, and the equipment employed, and examine the current state-of-the-art in a forum devoted solely to experimental unsaturated soil mechanics. The papers published in the proceedings were peer-reviewed by internationally-recognized researchers. The topics tackled by the papers include suction measurement, suction control, mechanical and hydraulic laboratory testing, geo-environmental testing, and field-testing.

Table of Contents:
Suction measurement Lessons learnt from suction monitoring during centrifuge modeling Pressure pulse technique for measuring diffused air volume A new soil-water characteristic curve device Soil suction measurement using the Xeritron Sensor in two different types of infiltration tests on a swelling soil Swelling and suction in clay minerals The effect of structure on the water retention of soil tested using different methods of suction measurement l Suction control Controlled suction oedometric tests: analysis of some experimental aspects Behavior upon drying-wetting paths of Maghnia Bentonite (west of Algeria) An investigation into hydro-mechanical behavior of an expansive soil using axis-translation and vapor equilibrium techniques Combining different controlled-suction techniques to study expansive clays On the suction control techniques in studying the THM behavior of unsaturated soils Determination of water retention curves of two bentonites at high temperature 7v Mechanical testing in unsaturated soils A direct shear box improved with the osmotic technique Volume change measurement of partially saturated rockfill in triaxial tests Advancement in oedometer testing of unsaturated soils A tensile strength apparatus for cohesionless soils Direct shear testing of interfaces in unsaturated soil Measuring lateral pressures during suction-controlled one-dimensional consolidation Determination of the shear strength of unsaturated soils using the modified ring shear apparatus Experimental study of flowslide on reconstituted samples of pyroclastic soils: soil characterization and testing devices Mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils Wetting paths upon shearing: experimental evidence and comparative analysis of two volcanic soils in the area of Napoli and Roma Seasonal variation of a subgrade soil resilient modulus in southern Brazil Wetting and anisotropic consolidation behaviour of an expansive clay Swell and shrink tests in modified oedometer apparatuses A study of the shear strength of two unsaturated colluvium soils Direct shear and compression behaviors for an unsaturated compacted soil with water content and matric suction measurement Investigations on the unsaturated stress-strain behaviour and on the SWCC of Hostun Sand in a double-walled triaxial cell Analysis of the deformability of compacted tropical residual soils Stiffness of unsaturated compacted clayey soils at very small strains Experimental and modeling of unsaturated soil behavior under stress path tests Stresses and conjugate strain-increments in plotting experimental data for unsaturated soils Influence of matric suction on the shear strength of a compacted Kaolonite under unconfined conditions: Experimental results (Part 1) Influence of matric suction on the shear strength of compacted Kaolin soil under unconfined conditions: Shear strength prediction (Part 2) Stress-strain behavior of an unsaturated residual soil from gneiss Experimental study of the effect of cyclic suction loading on shear behavior of collapsible soils Influence of sample preparation technique on the stress-strain behaviour of unsaturated soils An elastoplastic hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated compacted soils Seismic compression behaviour of non-plastic silty sands An empirical relationship for evaluating collapsible settlements of volcanic ash sandy soil A direct testing method for the tensile strength of compacted clays Hydraulic testing in unsaturated soils Unsaturated soil diffusivity measurements Quasi-steady centrifuge method for unsaturated hydraulic characterization Numerical modeling of constant flow method for measuring unsaturated hydrologic properties The centrifuge permeameter for unsaturated soils (CPUS) Experimental hydraulic measurements in an unsaturated swelling soil using the dual-energy gamma-ray technique Hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated soils Establishment of new tropical soils differentiation factors considering suction and soil genesis Assessment of Fredlund & Xing’s soil-water characteristic equation for tropical soils An experimental evaluation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity functions for a quasi-saturated compacted soil Soil-water characteristics and volume change behavior of an artificially cemented expansive clay Some remarks on physicoempirical models for the prediction of the soil water retention curve Determination of the soil-water characteristic curve of undisturbed colluvium soils Use of soil-water characteristics curve in determination of stability of embankments during drying and wetting processes A model to predict the soil water characteristics of sand mixtures Evaluation of air permeability of unsaturated sandy soils Evaluation of moisture-suction characteristics of a lateritic soil submitted to infiltration by caustic liqueur Gas permeability evolution of a sand/bentonite during controlled-suction paths Water retention curves of lime stabilised soil Investigating water retention characteristics upon wetting paths using water-undrained compression tests Estimation of the soil-water characteristic curve of coarse-grained soils using one point measurement and simple properties Microstructure investigation Compressibility and fabric of an unsaturated compacted swelling soil Influence of moisture content on porosity features of Red clay Chemical and mineralogical properties of Residual tropical soils and their relationships with selected geotechnical properties Techniques of sample preparation of artificial cemented highly collapsible soil Microstructure of clay-sand mixtures at different hydration states Drying induced alteration to the microstructure of a tropical soil Geo-environmental testing Temperature effects on the water content-suction relation of two soils On the retention properties of a polluted sand-silt mixture Image analysis to determine the dispersion coefficient and dispersivity in capillary and saturated zone An experimental evidence in desiccation cracking in sandy silt Thermo-hydro-mechanical tests using vapor and liquid transfer on a clay based mixture Assessment of swell-shrinkage behavior of compacted sedimentary residual soil for potential use in landfill liner Field measurement and monitoring in field applications Laboratory versus field values of unsaturated soil diffusivity Further tests on the fissuring of clay fill at the Thorngumbald flood embankment In situ testing of unsaturated organic soils Field monitoring of matric potential and soil water content in the chalk unsaturated zone The use of the ground penetrating radar, GPR, as a non intrusive method to measuring soil water content Instrumentation and matric soil suction measurement in a decomposed granite soil slope Monitoring matric suction profiles in partially saturated pyroclastic topsoil slopes Numerical modelling of soil suction measurements in pyroclastic soils First results of a monitoring experiment for the analysis of rainfall induced landslides A Evaluation of evapotranspiration from alternative landfill covers at the Rocky Mountain Arsena