Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) tests were conducted to measure evolution of tensile strength for compacted kaolinite disks at saturations (S) ranging from 0.02 to 0.73. Tensile strength and stiffness prior to failure followed non-monotonic trends marked by general increases as saturation increased from 0.02 to ～0.40, followed by general decreases as saturation further increased. Strain at failure increased monotonically with saturation. Evolution of the strength, strain, and stiffness response was interpreted to reflect corresponding evolution of interparticle stress components active in unsaturated soils, including capillary forces and double layer forces. Results provide experimental evidence for evolution of internal stress state in unsaturated soils over a wide range of saturation.
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