a b s t r a c tThis paper describes a thermo-hydro-mechanical framework suitable for modelling the behaviour of unsaturated soils. In particular, this paper focuses on bentonite clay subjected to a thermo-hydromechanical load, as in the case of nuclear waste engineering barriers. The paper gives a theoretical derivation of the full set of coupled balance equations governing the material behaviour as well as an extended physical interpretation. Finally, a finite element discretisation of the equations and number of simulations verifying their implementation into a custom finite element code is provided. Some aspects of the formulation are also validated against experimental data.

The mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils is one of the challenging topics in the field of geotechnical engineering. The use of finite element technique is considered as a promising method to solve settlement and heave problems, as associated with unsaturated soil. Nevertheless, the success of the numerical analysis is strongly dependent on constitutive model being used. The well-known Barcelona Basic Model is considered to be a robust and suitable model for unsaturated soils and has thus been implemented into the PLAXIS finite element code. This paper provides results of numerical analyses of a shallow foundation resting on an unsaturated soil using the implemented model. Special attention is given to the effect of suction variation on soil behaviour.

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