Cohesion of unsaturated residual soils as a function of volumetric water content

Soil cohesion changes with the moisture state of a soil. This paper presents an empirical equation to predict the cohesive component in the shear strength of unsaturated residual soils as an exponential function of volumetric water content. The formulation originated from a multiple linear-regression analysis for data sets obtained from shear tests using undisturbed soils with varying moisture contents. The empirical equations can realistically predict the reduction in soil cohesion due to wetting (R-2 =0.88, 0.93). The methodology described in this paper provides a convenient alternative to the quantitative estimation of unsaturated shear strength, especially in an engineering practice such as a slope stability analysis as no matrix suction data are required.