Experimental investigation on loading collapse curve of unsaturated soils under wetting and drying processes

An experimental program of isotropic loading tests on a compacted kaolin using a conventional triaxial equipment modified for testing unsaturated soils was perform to investigate a loading collapse curve of unsaturated soils along wetting and drying paths. The test data are presented in terms of effective stress on a range of constant suction. The suction hardening behavior was observed for both wetted and dried samples. With the use of an appropriate effective stress parameter, the unique relationship for loading collapse curve for wetting and drying processes was obtained.