Ricerc@Sapienza

This paper concerns the hydromechanical stability of partially saturated soils
during wetting. The response of a loose silty sand is numerically/theoretically
investigated with the main aim of identifying both triggering mechanisms
and predisposing factors to instability. This latter is testified by both a rapid
increase in the pore water pressure and an unexpected loss of numerical
convergence. The study has been conducted at different scales from laboratory
tests to boundary value problems, and in both cases, the controllability theory
has been employed to both interpret and justify the numerical results.