Although the small-strain shear modulus of saturated soils is known to be significantly affected by stress history, consisting of the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) and recent stress history, the effects of suction history on the small-strain shear modulus of unsaturated soils have rarely been reported. In this study, the effects of suction history, which refers to current suction ratio (CSR) and recent suction history, on both the very-small-strain shear modulus (G0) and shear modulus reduction curve of an unsaturated soil, are investigated by carrying out constant net mean stress compression triaxial tests with bender elements and local strain measurements. In addition, the effect of suction magnitude on G0 and the shear modulus reduction curve is also investigated. At a given suction, G0, elastic threshold strain (εe), and the rate of shear modulus reduction all increase with CSR. On the other hand, the effect of recent suction history on G0 is not significant. The effect of direction of recent suction path (θ) on the shear modulus reduction curve is not distinct. However, the magnitude of recent suction path (l) affects the shear modulus reduction curve significantly when θ = –90°.
