A general discussion of soil-water interaction in expansive soil

In Australia, the distortions of light structures in expansive soil are widely reported, often such damages are due to the soil settlement caused by expansive soil swelling and shrinkage. Expansive soil covers large areas of land in this country and it's behavior is complicated. Generally the expansive soil behavior is closely related with the water content. This paper gives a preliminary discussion of soil-water interaction in expansive soil in three aspects: effective stress, soil suction profile and soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). Hopefully the investigation can help making the engineering guideline in real construction.