Examination of Desiccation Cracking Activities of Drying Soil

Experimental Observations and Analysis of Desiccation Cracking in Ganga Soil

Abstract

This paper reports various experimental observations on desiccation tests performed in the laboratory under controlled conditions over samples of ‘Ganga soil’, from a defence embankment along the Ganga River, India. Data has been reported on the volumetric shrinkage and desiccation cracking exhibited on samples upon air-drying. Water retention curve was obtained to analyse the material properties during shrinkage. A number of tests have been carried out to study the desiccation process; in circular desiccation plate over 5 mm, 10 mm and 20 mm soil thickness. To characterised the crack patterns quantitatively digital image analysis (DIA) techniques have been used to analyse the desiccation plate tests. Crack parameters e.g., number of crack intersections, number of crack segments, total length of cracks, average width of cracks and crack intensity factor (CIF) have been determined for this purpose.