Drying characteristic curves for two compacted clayey sands with different dry densities and initial moisture contents were measured

analyzed and compared. Based on the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements

the effect of dry density，initial moisture content and soil composition on the drying characteristics of the compacted soils was investigated. The T2 (spin-spin relaxation time) distribution curves at various suctions were measured and used to characterize the moisture distributions in the soils

and the effect of the dry density，initial moisture content and soil composition on the drying process of the compacted soils were analyzed. The results show that the effect of dry density on the drying process is significant only at low matric suction

and for the soils with high matric suction

the effect of the initial moisture content and soil composition becomes important; based on the analysis of the NMR measurements

it is also shown that in compacted clayey sands

the structure and content of micropores are mainly determined by the initial moisture content and soil composition

whereas those of macropores are controlled by the dry density; soil composition has more significant influence on the internal structure and pore-size distribution of compacted soils than initial moisture content.