The relationship between the swelling pressure and shear strength of unsaturated soil: the Yanji Basin as a case study

The swelling pressure is a unique and important parameter for reflecting the engineering characteristics of expansive soil, providing a method to study the shear strength of expansive soil. The results of previous studies indicate that the shear strength of unsaturated soil is composed of three parts, and the swelling pressure contributes to the matric suction. Unsaturated direct shear tests and swelling tests of undisturbed expansive soils in the Yanji Basin were performed in this study, and the relationship between the swelling pressure and water content, as well as between the total cohesion and initial water content, were analyzed. According to a data regression analysis, a variety of fitting functions were used for comparisons and a linear relationship between the swelling pressure and the matric suction was established. The study indicate that the exponential fitting function, power function, and linear function should be used and compared with one another to find the best fit. This research is significant for the study of the relationship between shear strength and the swelling pressure of unsaturated soil.