Experimental Investigation of the Desiccation Cracking Behavior of Soil Layers during Drying

Tang, Chao‐Sheng; Shi, Bin; Liu, Chun; Gao, Lei; Inyang, Hilary I.

doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0000242

Cited by 116 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Based on his field observations, Weinberger (2001) assumed that most cracks start at or close to the bottom of the layer, propagate upwards and then horizontally. Something similar was noticed by Lakshmikantha et al (2013) Shin and Santamarina (2011) and (Tang et al, 2010b(Tang et al, , 2011 mentioned that cracks always start at the surface of the layer. What was observed during the experiments in this study is that the fractures might start anywhere along the depth of the layer (Figure 12).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…No perceptible water flow through the wood was seen. These depressions can also be noticed in the work of Müller and Dahm (2000), Tang et al (2010b) (Figure 7) and Lakshmikantha et al (2013). However only Müller and Dahm (2000) and Lakshmikantha et al (2013) described them, with Müller and Dahm (2000) suggesting that they might be the expression…”

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 64%

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Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Tollenaar

Paassen

Jommi

2017

Engineering Geology

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Waterways and lakes in low-lying delta areas require regular dredging for maintenance. Often these sediments are placed on land, where they are allowed to ripen through a combination of drainage, consolidation and evaporation. When cracks develop during desiccation, the physical response of the soil is affected by changes in the overall strength, stiffness and permeability of the material. To better identify how cracks form and propagate, a series of tests was carried out in a controlled laboratory environment on samples of drying clay slurries under different initial and boundary conditions. The outcomes of this study indicate that the results from laboratory small scale models must be carefully analyzed, as they depend on the area and the thickness of the sample. However, common features from the different tests can be identified, which are mostly related to the intrinsic behavior of the material. For instance, the water content at which cracks initiate depends mostly on the drying rate and not only on the initial water content.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Accepted M Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 64%

Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Tollenaar

Paassen

Jommi

2017

Engineering Geology

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“…This is attributable to growth of cracks in the direction perpendicular to the local maximum tensile stress [19]- [21]. Although the crack pattern at the intersection nodes gradually assumed a more "Y" shape in the second crack segments, such crack patterns did not necessarily follow a strict "T" and "Y" sequence during crack propagation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Characterizing Dessication Cracking of a Remolded Clay (<i>Eutric Vertisol</i>) Using the Fractal Dimension Approach

Lomeling¹,

Kenyi²,

Lodiong³

et al. 2016

OJSS

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Fractal dimension fd, was used as one of the parameters to describe dessication cracking pattern of a remolded Black Cotton soil (Eutric Vertisol). The fractal dimension computed from filtered, thinned and skeletonized binary images of soil cracks using the Fractal3 software provided an insight into temporal variability of fd as well as its relationship with the Crack Intensity Factor (CIF) and Soil Moisture Content (SMC). The results showed that even for single crack, the fd prior to filtering and thinning were higher than after. Cracking patterns were observedfroma chosen soil sample during dessication and the corresponding relationship between fd and CIF compared and monitored. As the critical SMC decreased during drying (45% to 27%), the CIF soil increased (0.023% -5.75%), so did the fd (1.233 to 1.7193). The fd showed a positive linear correlation with CIF at r 2 = 0.247 (P < 0.05) whereas the correlation of fd with SMC was best described using a polynomial function at r 2 = 0.969 (P < 0.05). The fd was sensitive to dessication cracking and therefore on SMC changes. Visual observation of dessication cracking showed that CIF increased and attained stability after day 4 while the computed and logarithmic transformed crack area attained stability between days 7 to 10 gradually decreasing to values below 2%. The estimated crack Cover or Brightness of the digitized binary images also gave better approximation of the CIF though this was slightly higher. Our results showed that dessication cracking of the Eutric Vertisol was independent of antecedent critical SMC and was time-constrained. Further soil cracking therefore stopped once maximum CIF was attained and only widening and deepening of pre-existing cracks continued.

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“…2. Based on the data presented, two evaporation stages can be easily identified irrespective of sample thickness, namely; (a) Initial constant evaporation stage (b) Falling evaporation stage This evaporation behaviour can be explained with respect to the heat and mass flow between soil and air [Tang et al, 2011]. It was noted that 3 conditions must be satisfied for evaporation process to be existed in bare soil surface, namely; (a) Continuous heat should be supplied to soil surface (b) Vapour pressure at the atmosphere should be less than the vapour pressure at the soil surface (c) Continuous water should be supplied to the soil surface Based on the test results as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Soil-water Evaporation Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shrinkage behaviour of landfill clay liner materials in dry zone

Priyankara

Thenuwara

Kawamoto

et al. 2016

JGS Special Publication

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Due to formation of shrinkage cracks in landfill clay liners in dry zone of Sri Lanka leads to infiltration of leachate into ground during the rainy season. Therefore, in this research study, shrinkage behaviour of expansive soil available in dry zone of Sri Lanka, which is used to develop compacted clay liners, were evaluated using laboratory desiccation plate tests. Circular desiccation plates with different thicknesses were used for the experiments. A series of tests have been carried out with unamended soil and soil amended with different percentages of bentonite. Further, shrinkage behaviour was studied by amending oleic acid and coconut coir fibers into the soil. Digital image processing technique has been used to determine the Crack Intensity Factor (CIF). Crack initiation time under different configuration was recorded. Based on visual observations, it can be seen that all samples produce predominantly orthogonal crack patterns leading to sub division of crack area in to smaller cells. Higher desiccation rate was observed for smaller thickness of soil specimen. In addition, higher CIF was recorded for the bentonite amended soil. It was noted that shrinkage cracks can be controlled by amending soil with coconut coir fibers.

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Experimental Investigation of the Desiccation Cracking Behavior of Soil Layers during Drying

Cited by 116 publications

References 24 publications

Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Characterizing Dessication Cracking of a Remolded Clay (<i>Eutric Vertisol</i>) Using the Fractal Dimension Approach

Shrinkage behaviour of landfill clay liner materials in dry zone

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Experimental Investigation of the Desiccation Cracking Behavior of Soil Layers during Drying

Cited by 116 publications

References 24 publications

Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Observations on the desiccation and cracking of clay layers

Characterizing Dessication Cracking of a Remolded Clay (&lt;i&gt;Eutric Vertisol&lt;/i&gt;) Using the Fractal Dimension Approach

Shrinkage behaviour of landfill clay liner materials in dry zone

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Characterizing Dessication Cracking of a Remolded Clay (<i>Eutric Vertisol</i>) Using the Fractal Dimension Approach