There have been three main pillars associated with the development of an applied engineering science for both saturated and unsaturated soil mechanics; namely, i) the synthesis of continuum mechanics theories of physical behavior, ii) the laboratory measurement of relevant soil properties, and iii) analyses that illustrate the solution of practical exam...

Numerical modeling (finite element analyses) of saturated-unsaturated soils problems generally involves the solution of linear or nonlinear partial differential equations, PDEs. The soil properties for unsaturated soils usually take on a functional form that subsequently requires an iterative procedure to obtain a solution. Special numerical solution te...

The hydraulic conductivity for unsaturated soil conditions is more difficult to estimate than for the saturated condition. In addition, as the soil transitions from intact to cracked, the difficulty in estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity increases. One critical step in the determination of unsaturated flow hydraulic conductivity is the eva...