Research on suction equilibrium time of unsaturated reticulate red clay

Filter paper technique, humidity control technique and axis translation technique were used to study suction equilibrium time of unsaturated reticulate red clay. Test results show that: (a) suction equilibrium exists in both suction measurement or suction control using any technique in the tests; (b) suction equilibrium time of unsaturated reticulate red clay can be as short as several tens hour or several days for different suction measuring techniques, or long as several days or several tens day for different suction controlling techniques; (c) suction equilibrium time consumed in process of suction measurement is shorter than that of suction control using the same technique; (d) suction equilibrium time in measuring matric suction of unsaturated reticulate red clay using axis translation technique is shorter than that using filter paper technique; and (e) suction equilibrium time of drying process is much longer than that of wetting process, when suction is controlled using humidity control technique.