ABSTRACT
The tensile strength of soils has received relatively minor attention in the past 40 years, perhaps because it is assumed that the tensile strength is a small quantity in comparison to compressive strength or perhaps because engineers have a poor understanding of tensile strength. Tensile failure of soils can occur in natural soils, such as in slope failures, landslides, or cuts or in compacted soils in slopes, embankments, dams, or clay liners. The development of tension cracks in soils is an indication that tensile strength may be important in various design situations. Compacted soils are by default unsaturated and they may remain unsaturated throughout their life or they may take on water as a result of water infiltration or water flow, as through an earth dam. The engineering properties of compacted soils are therefore dependent on a range of water content that the soil may have after compaction, but in some cases may be critical immediately after compaction has been completed.
