Effective Stress in Unsaturated Zone | Soil Mechanics - Civil Engineering (CE) PDF Download

Effective Stress in Unsaturated Zone

Above the water table, when the soil is saturated, pore pressure will be negative (less than atmospheric). The height above the water table to which the soil is saturated is called the capillary rise, and this depends on the grain size and the size of pores. In coarse soils, the capillary rise is very small.

Between the top of the saturated zone and the ground surface, the soil is partially saturated, with a consequent reduction in unit weight . The pore pressure in a partially saturated soil consists of two components: 
Pore water pressure = u_w
Pore air pressure = u_a

Water is incompressible, whereas air is compressible. The combined effect is a complex relationship involving partial pressures and the degree of saturation of the soil.

Effective Stress Under Hydrodynamic Conditions

There is a change in pore water pressure in conditions of seepage flow within the ground. Consider seepage occurring between two points P and Q. The potential driving the water flow is the hydraulic gradient between the two points, which is equal to the head drop per unit length. In steady state seepage, the gradient remains constant.

Hydraulic gradient from P to Q, i = dh/ds 


As water percolates through soil, it exerts a drag on soil particles it comes in contact with. Depending on the flow direction, either downward of upward, the drag either increases or decreases inter-particle contact forces.

A downward flow increases effective stress.

In contrast, an upward flow opposes the force of gravity and can even cause to counteract completely the contact forces. In such a situation, effective stress is reduced to zero and the soil behaves like a very viscous liquid. Such a state is known as quick sand condition. In nature, this condition is usually observed in coarse silt or fine sand subject to artesian conditions.

At the bottom of the soil column,

During quick sand condition, the effective stress is reduced to zero.

where i_cr = critical hydraulic gradient

This shows that when water flows upward under a hydraulic gradient of about 1, it completely neutralizes the force on account of the weight of particles, and thus leaves the particles suspended in water.