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Unsaturated Soils: Testing and Modelling, 2nd Edition

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Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites contributions dealing with multi-scale laboratory and field testing and monitoring of unsaturated soils, as well as the development and application of theoretical and computational tools to model the behaviour of unsaturated soils and earthworks.

The topics for submission include, but are not limited to, the following:

Fundamental theory and constitutive modelling;
Multiphysics and coupled phenomena modelling;
Hydromechanical properties and behaviour;
Advances in multiscale experimental evidence and techniques (laboratory and in situ);
Development and application of numerical modelling tools for engineering analysis and design;
Quantification of climatic effects and soil–vegetation–atmosphere models;
Shrinking-swelling soils;
Unsaturated soil mechanics for hazardous and nuclear waste repositories;
Waste geomaterial behaviour and applications in geoengineering;
Innovative ground improvement techniques, including biomediated and bioinspired processes;
Natural and human-made slope stability;
Energy geotechnics;
Multiscale subsurface water and contaminant transport modelling and monitoring;
Natural attenuation and remediation of contaminated sites.

Prof. Dr. Maria Mavroulidou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fundamental theory and constitutive modelling
multiphysics and coupled phenomena modelling
hydromechanical properties and behaviour
advances in multiscale experimental evidence and techniques (laboratory and in situ)
development and application of numerical modelling tools for engineering analysis and design
quantification of climatic effects and soil–vegetation–atmosphere models
shrinking-swelling soils
unsaturated soil mechanics for hazardous and nuclear waste repositories
waste geomaterial behaviour and applications in geoengineering
innovative ground improvement techniques, including biomediated and bioinspired processes
natural and human-made slope stability
energy geotechnics
multiscale subsurface water and contaminant transport modelling and monitoring
natural attenuation and remediation of contaminated sites

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Research

16 pages, 2118 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Degree of Saturation on Soil–Pile Interactions for Piles in Expansive Soils

by Kuo Chieh Chao, A-Nanya Chaladthanyakit and Taskid Hossain Asif

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(13), 7102; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15137102 - 24 Jun 2025

Viewed by 142

Abstract

Conventional designs of pile foundations for houses on expansive soils adopt conservative approaches by using swelling pressure measured in oedometer tests to compute pile uplift force. However, in practice, piles are often installed in unsaturated soils, where changes in moisture content influence soil behavior. Increasing moisture in expansive soils reduces matric suction, increases soil volume, and induces swelling pressure, all of which affect uplift shear stress. This study investigates the impact of varying degrees of saturation on pile uplift force through a series of laboratory tests on single-pile models. The results of the experimental investigation indicate that uplift force developed along the pile shaft due to the wetting of expansive soils exhibits a hyperbolic trend. A significant portion of the uplift force developed during the early stage of the heaving process. Back-calculation analyses using theoretical equations reveal that the coefficient of uplift, α, and the swelling pressure ratio, β, increases as the initial degree of saturation of soil specimens increases, with a change of less than 10% within the tested range. These findings suggest that constant values of the α and β parameters can be used for pile design in expansive soils, even under unsaturated conditions. Nonetheless, the influence of other factors, such as pile dimensions, pile materials, and soil properties, on the α and β values should be investigated to improve the accuracy of pile design in expansive soil conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Unsaturated Soils: Testing and Modelling, 2nd Edition)

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