Effect of initial placement conditions on shear strength of a shallow layer expansive soil

Abstract

    The aim of this paper is to study the effects of the initial placement conditions (viz., compaction coefficient K and water content W) on the shear strength of an expansive soil. The soil was investigated as a 40 cm thick layer at the initial water contents on the both sides optimum water content (OWC) with different compaction coefficients. Compacted soil specimens were allowed to swell and shrink to the initial height under wetting-drying cycles with the wetting duration lasting 20 days in each cycle. The dry density, water content and shear strength of soil were determined at different depths after each cycle