Is Matric Suction a Stress Variable?

Abstract

The writer attempts to clarify and address two fundamental questions regarding the appropriate use of matric suction in unsaturated soil mechanics: Is matric suction a stress variable? and Is matric suction a stress state variable? These questions are examined by employing the universally accepted mechanical equilibrium principle, the concept of representative elementary volume (REV) for air-water-solid multiphase porous media, and physical and logical reasoning. It is clarified that matric suction is not a stress variable at a typical air-water-solid REV level, and it can be considered as a stress state variable. However, when it is considered as a stress state variable, there is an interdependency or coupling between matric suction and the net normal stress if both of them are concurrently used to describe the state of stress in unsaturated soils. It is illustrated that the answers to these questions bear important implications for the conceptualization, theorization, and application of unsaturated soil mechanics.