ABSTRACT
Shearing infiltration tests were conducted to simulate the stress path followed by unsaturated soils during infiltration due to rainfall. A modified direct shear and a modified triaxial apparatuses were used to carry out the tests on undisturbed Bukit Timah granitic residual soils from Singapore. The specimens were sheared under drained conditions to a pre-determined stress level about 90% of the peak shear strength of the specimen. After creep monitoring, water was injected through the base of the specimen at a constant rate until the specimen failed due to the decrease in matric suction. In triaxial testing, miniature pore-water pressure transducer was utilised to measure pore-water pressure changes at the mid-height of the specimen, especially during infiltration (before and after the failure). The results show that the specimens failed during infiltration due to the decrease of matric suction in both the direct shear and triaxial tests.
