Experimental studies on curling development of artificial soils

Abstract

Soil curling is an important phenomenon associated with volume changes induced by increasing soil suction upon desiccation. The study of soil behaviors associated with drying in soils (e.g. soil shrinkage, desiccation cracks and curling) has received increasing attention over the last few years, which has been mainly driven by the forecast climate change that will warm up our planet. There are significant gaps in the current knowledge related to the factors that control the development of curling deformations in soils. For this, the curling phenomenon is investigated through laboratory desiccation tests on different mixtures of artificial soils. The effects of soil grain size distribution, mineralogy, soil microstructure, and soil water content on the curling deformation are analyzed. Digital photos were taken at regular time intervals during the tests to understand the volume changes in the soil samples during drying. It is found that soil fabric and soil water content have significant effects on curling scenario. It is observed that the percentage of sand particles and the initial water content play a critical role in the development of soil curling. Samples of pure clayey minerals experienced shrinkage without or with minor curling during drying. Keywords: Curling, Shrinkage, Desiccation cracking, Sedimentation, Suction, Thin soil layers