Thermo-hydro-mechanical analysis of soil strata suffered from desiccation cracking

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Publication Title
Thermo-hydro-mechanical analysis of soil strata suffered from desiccation cracking

Abstract
Understanding the complex behaviour of cracked ground surface resulting from the desiccation process in swelling soils has received significant attention in recent years. The formation of these cracks is attributed to the complicated interplay between soil comprising of plastic nature and atmospheric conditions; in some cases, the influencing depth of cracking can be extended to several meters below the ground surface. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to investigate the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of cracked soil strata using CODE-BRIGHT. Results indicated that crack presence led to heterogeneous moisture distribution during the drying process with more significant desiccation in crack edges and walls. In addition, the inclusion of crack into an initially homogeneous soil stratum enhanced the heterogeneous ground deformations, with the most pronounced effects observed near the cracks. Remarkably, the findings indicate that cracks display varying behaviour under diverse climatic conditions. They tend to widen more in warmer climates, and conversely, they exhibit a tendency to close during rainy periods, which can be attributed to soil swelling.
Authors
Saeed Tourchi; M. Jabbarzadeh; H. Sadeghi

Published In

18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)

Theme

B - Geohazards

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