Desiccation-induced cracking of expansive soils: highlighting volume change behavior

Desiccation-induced cracking is a complicated phenomenon associated with strongly coupled hydro-mechanical behavior of cohesive soils. The soil-shrinkage characteristic curve (SSCC) for intact soils is well established to describe the relationship between void ratio and water content. However, it is questionable to employ the SSCC to predict the volume change based on the reduction in water content during the desiccation cracking. In this project, SSCCs with and without desiccation cracks for two soils (including one expansive soil) will be measured. The state-of-art devices and an electronic balance are utilized to measure the volume change (including the geometry of crack networks) and moisture change during desiccation cracking, respectively. The relationship between crack volume and void ratio of soil matrix and moisture content during desiccation cracking could improve our understanding of the mechanism of desiccation-induced cracking and pave the way to modeling the flow through cracked soils.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sai Vanapalli

Student:

Partner:

Texas A&M University

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Ottawa

Program: