The experimental results of the present study on compacted expansive clay illustrate that matric suction increases with the increase in pore fluid osmotic suction due to changes in soil structure. Scanning electron micrographs show that particle stacking (aggregations) increases with increase in pore fluid osmotic suction and cation valence due to reduction in diffuse double layer thickness, and thus results in a reduction in micro pore size with a corresponding increase in macro pore size. At a given water content, the macro pore degree of saturation reduces with the increase in osmotic suction owing to the increase in macro pore size and leads to an increase in matric suction, as the matric suction is characteristic of the macro pore and the degree of saturation of the macro pore. The matric, osmotic and total suction measurements using the filter paper method also confirm that the matric and osmotic suction components are additive. This demonstrates that the method of obtaining matric suction from the difference between total suction and pore fluid osmotic suction determined using non-contact filter papers is reliable. © 2015, ICE Publishing. All rights reserved.