Estimation of soil water characteristic curves (SWCC) of mining sand using soil suction modelling

Abstract

Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) is widely known as the relationship between matric suction and water content. It is used as a tool to determine the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils and to predict soil water storage. Direct measurement is difficult and time-consuming. Many empirical models have been developed to represent SWCC. The objective of this study is to validate the Van Genuchten and Fredlund and Xing models. The SWCC was obtained from pressure plate tests for different soil gradations of mining tailing sand samples taken from Kuala Trong, Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. The results presented include moisture content and degree of saturation versus matric suction. The constructed SWCCs were fitted using the Van Genuchten and Fredlund and Xing equations, and the behaviour of the parameters analysed and discussed. The study found that this method is good for the SWCC for mining tailing sand, and that SWCC is greatly affected by initial water content and the grain size of the sample.