We developed an experimental program to monitor how interparticle forces control fine-grained soils' mechanical behavior when saturation changes from the tightly adsorbed regime to saturation. The testing program uses stiffness (i.e., S-wave velocity) and strength (i.e., Brazilian tensile strength) tests on kaolinite, silica flour, and diatomaceous earth soil samples at very low confining stresses (< 5 kPa). Three fine-grained soils yield a range of different properties, including particle size, specific surface area, negative charge density, and internal/external particle porosity. Results show that shear stiffness and tensile strength follow similar trends, emphasizing that the same interparticle forces control the mechanical responses. In particular, the interpretation of S-wave velocity measurements shows three different behavior ranges: a van der Waals attraction range, a capillary-dominated interparticle forces range, and the continuous decrease in the capillary forces from the saturation at the air-entry pressure until full saturation. We show that the interparticle forces respond to a complex function of water content, particle size, particle separations, surface charge density, and the presence of internal particle porosity.
