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Abstract Triaxial tests under constant suction are performed to study the shear characteristics under the control of matrix suction by using the unsaturated Yongdeng loess in Gansu province. Variation of matrix suction with water content and confining pressure and the relationship between matrix suction and suction strength are obtained. Besides a formula which can predict the contribution of different suctions to the shear strength of unsaturated loess is derived. The test results show：the matrix suction decreases with the increases of water content and confining pressure；while water content dominates the change of matrix suction. The suction strength is increasing with the increment of matrix suction and it is of high sensibility in the situation of low water content. This research provides a new method for the practical use of unsaturated loess shear strength in the western region loess engineering.
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Received: 18 May 2011
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2011, Vol. 30 
