Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Soil Cracking Characteristics under Evaporation

Abstract

There are numerous cracks on soil surface in nature. These cracks are mainly formed by the continuous water loss and shrinkage of soil under evaporation. Cracks have an important effect on the properties of soil. The analysis of soil moisture movement and cracking characteristics under evaporation is of great significance to the engineering construction in the cracked soil area. In this work, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the development of soil cracks. Crack geometrical parameters were acquired at various developmental stages. According to this, the crack evolution characteristic was described qualitatively. The law of soil water movement was analyzed through the numerical simulation of evaporation effect on cracked soil. The relationship between soil moisture content and crack width was revealed, and the dynamic prediction of crack development under evaporation was realized. The results show that the development and evaporation process of soil cracks can be divided into three distinct stages, and the longer the stable evaporation time, the greater the development of cracks.

Investigating the effect of soil cracks on preferential flow using a dye tracing infiltration experiment in karst in Southwest China

“…Sun et al (2009) considered that the crack width is affected by the suction capacity of the substrate, which leads to primary and secondary cracks. The crack width is a basic parameter used when describing crack development (Feng et al, 2021). Feng et al (2021) reported that the crack width changes under evaporation and established a functional relationship between the soil water content and the crack width.…”

“…The crack width is a basic parameter used when describing crack development (Feng et al, 2021). Feng et al (2021) reported that the crack width changes under evaporation and established a functional relationship between the soil water content and the crack width. This study investigated cracks with widths of 1, 1.5, and 2 cm; the corresponding volumes were approximately 0.16%, 0.35%, and 0.63%, respectively.…”

The Effect of Soluble Sugar Degradation on the Evaporation of Compacted Clay

“…According to the change in organic matter content in clay during anaerobic degradation, the anaerobic degradation percentage of glucose (the percentage of glucose degraded in clay to total glucose in clay) was found, and the relationship is shown in Formula (1).…”

“…Extreme weather such as drought and high temperatures have been frequent in recent years due to global warming. The problems of soil evaporation and cracking have gradually attracted the attention of scholars [1][2][3]. The surface soil of the crust evaporates, loses water, and shrinks to form cracks under the influence of external forces such as light, wind energy, temperature difference, humidity difference, and other environmental forces.…”