1068
Proceedings of the 18
th
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris 2013
Sedimentation, consolidation and drying by evaporation are
the processes of interest in impoundment of mine tailing
containing fine particles. The contribution of
MacRobert
(South
Africa) focuses on the drying behaviour of platinum tailings
subjected to one year evaporation. The Author observes that the
effects of natural drying in such tailings hardly reached 1m
depth, and that drying of the upper layer prevented further
suction development in the lower part of the tailings for a long
time. Once more, the contribution confirms that drying is a
complicated process, ruled by both the forcing conditions at the
boundary and the hydraulic properties of the material.
Bajwa & Simms
(Canada) discuss the evolution of the
microstructure of oil sand fine tailings by means of scanning
electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry, to
better understand the interplay role of desiccation and
consolidation. Polymer amended tailings were investigated to
try to optimise tailing operation in oil sands. The behaviour
pattern turns out to be similar to that of active clays, and drying
was found to be more effective in changing the fabric of the oil
sand than the added polymer.
While drying is the most relevant process for mine tailing,
wetting dominates the performance of liners in landfill barriers.
Siemens et al
. (Canada) discuss from a theoretical viewpoint the
beneficial effect of confining stress in transient hydration of
geosynthetic clay liners (GCL), which enhance the retaining
properties of the GCL, in turn increasing its hydration rate.
6 FINAL REMARKS
This report tackled briefly those aspects of unsaturated soil
mechanics which were suggested by the contributions submitted
to the conference. As such, it is not a comprehensive summary
of recent developments. Yet, it provides a broad overview on
those aspect which are perceived to be of relevant interest in a
present and future perspective.
The overview suggests that unsaturated soil mechanics is
still considered as a fundamental branch of soil mechanics,
more than a body of knowledge able to provide widely accepted
answers to geotechnical design. The most innovative
contributions concern experimental set up at different scales.
The most challenging open issues seem to be related to existing
infrastructures, requiring reliable criteria for their assessment.
7 PAPERS SUBMITTED TO THE SESSION
Adem H.H., Vanapalli S.K.. 2013. A simple approach for predicting
vertical movements of expansive soils using the mechanics of
unsaturated soils.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Auvray R., Rosin-Paumier S., Abdallah A., Masrouri F. 2013. Etude de
l’impact de l’hygrométrie sur la fissuration d’un sol gonflant.
Proc.
of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Ávila G., Ledesma A., Loret A. 2013. One-dimensional cracking model
in clayey soils.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Bai X., Yang J., Ma F., Yang J. 2013. Experimental study on effect of
initial moisture content of compressive property of compacted loess
like silt.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Bajwa T., Simms P. 2013. Evolution of microstructure during
desiccation of oil sands mature fine tailings.
Proc. of the 18th
ICSMGE, Paris
.
Byun Y.H., Lee J.S., Cho S.H., Yoon H.K. 2013. Evaluation of void
ratio and elastic modulus of unsaturated soil using elastic waves.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Carrillo-Gil A., Carrillo-Acevedo A. 2013. Evaluation curves SWCC
for tropical Peruvian soils.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Droniuc N. 2013. Étude par la methode des éléments finis du
comportmement des remblais en sols fins compactés.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Ejjaaouani H., Shakhirev V., Magnan J.P., Bensallam S. 2013.
Comportement des sols gonflants lors de l’humidifcation et du
séchage.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Fathalikhani M., Gatmiri B. 2013. Numerical study of damage in
unsaturated bentonite with
-stock finite element code.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Fredlund D.G., Zhang F. 2013. Combination of shrinkage curve and
soil-water characteristic curves for soils that undergo volume
change as soil suction is increased.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE,
Paris
.
Georgetti G.B., Vilar O.M., Rodrigues R.A. 2013. Small-strain shear
modulus and shear strength of unsaturated clayey sand.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Hemmati S., Modaressi A. 2013. Etude de la stabilité des pentes non
saturées sous les effets de l’infiltration prenant en compte la
végétation.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Heyerdahl H., Høydal Ø., Nadim F., Kalsnes B.G. 2013. Rainfall-
induced collapse of old railway embankments in Norway.
Proc. of
the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Hoyos L.R., Cruz J.A., Puppala A.J., Douglas W.A. Sueascún E.A.
2013. Dynamic shear modulus and damping of compacted silty
sand via suction-controlled resonant column testing.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Kawai K., Iizuka A., Kanazawa S. 2013. Expression of mechanical
characteristics in compacted soil with soil/water/air coupled F.E.
simulation.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Liu Q., Yasufuku N. 2013. A geotechnical countermeasure for
combating desertification
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Mac Robert C. 2013. Field capacity and moisture loss during active
deposition on tailing dams.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Maček M., Smolar J., Petkovšek A. 2013. Extension of measurement
range of dew-point potentiometer and evaporation method.
Proc. of
the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Makki L., Bourgeois E., Burlon S., Magnan J.-P., Duc M. 2013. Effet
du retrait du sol sur une maison expérimentale.
Proc. of the 18th
ICSMGE, Paris
.
Mavroulidou M., Zhang X., Kichou Z., Gunn M.J. 2013. Hydro-
mechanical properties of lime-treated London clay.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Mendes J., Toll D.G. 2013. Influence of initial water content on the
water retention behaviour of a sandy clay soil.
Proc. of the 18th
ICSMGE, Paris
.
Mitchell P.W. 2013. Climate change effects on expansive soil
movements.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Mukunoki T., Mikami K. 2013. Study on the mechanism of two-phase
flow in porous media using X-ray CT image analysis.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Ng C.W.W., Leung A.K., Garg A., Woon K.X., Chu L.M., Hau,B.C.H.
2013. Soil suction induced by grass and tree in an atmospheric-
controlled plant room.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Nishimura T. 2013. Application of micro-porous membrane technology
for measurement of soil-water characteristic curve.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Reis R.M., Saboya F., Tibana S., Marciano C.R., Ribeiro A.B., Sterck
W.N., Avanzi E.D. 2013. Determination of soil-water retention
curve for a young residual soil using a small centrifuge.
Proc. of the
18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Sakai T. Nakano M. 2013.Interpretation of the effect of compaction on
the mechanical behaviour of embankment materials based on the
soil skeleton structure concept.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Schaefer V.R., Birchmier M.A. 2013. Mechanisms of strength loss
during wetting and drying of Pierre shale.
Proc. of the 18th
ICSMGE, Paris
.
Siemens G.A., Take W.A., Rowe R.K., Brachman R. 2013. Effect of
confining stress on the transient hydration of unsaturated GCLs.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Stanciu A., Aniculaesi M., Lungu I. 2013. Soil chart, new evaluation
method of the swelling-shrinkage potential, applied to the Bahlui’s
clay stabilized with cement.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Sugii T., Yamada K., Asano N., Yamada Y. 2013. Measurement of
unsaturated ground hydraulic properties using a dynamic state soil
moisture distribution model.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Toll D.G., Hassan A.A., King J.M., Asquith J.D. 2013. New devices for
water content measurement.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE, Paris
.
Vázquez M., Justo J.L., Durand P. 2013. A simplified model for
collapse using suction controlled tests.
Proc. of the 18th ICSMGE,
Paris
.
Zhao C.G., Li J., Cai G.Q., Liu Y. 2013. Critical state for unsaturated
soils and steady state of thermodynamic process.
Proc. of the 18th
ICSMGE, Paris
.
