Thermo-hydro-mechanical modelling of the heterogeneous subsidence and swelling in the desiccation cracked clayey strata

Desiccation cracks; Heterogeneous surface deformation; Land subsidence; Soil-atmosphere interaction; Thermo-hydro-mechanical modelling; Young geological formations; Geological formation; Heterogeneous surface; Soil atmosphere; Surface-deformations; Thermo-hydro-mechanical models; Young geological formation; Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology; Geology

Abstract :

[en] Soil desiccation cracking as a consequence of severe environmental changes alters soil deformation mechanisms significantly. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effect of crack characteristics and environmental conditions on the heterogeneous deformation of desiccation-cracked soils using thermo-hydro-mechanical analyses. The model framework consists of balance equations, thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical constitutive equations, while the model scenarios were determined based on statistical analyses. The meteorological record of Qom city was used for three years, from 2015 to 2017, to capture long-term behaviour under wetting-drying cycles. Findings revealed that cracks extend the deformation range, potentially up to six times, with variation based on crack dimensions and spacing. Notably, narrower cracks experienced more pronounced deformation than wider ones. The cracked soil with a crack depth of 2.5 m showed 1.5 times higher swelling and subsidence than crack depth of 1 m. Furthermore, the wider cracks indicated a lower rate of increase in their dimensions compared to the initial state during drying. The investigation also highlights the mechanisms of soil surface shape due to swelling and shrinkage, resulting in concave and convex surfaces, respectively. The results provide new perspectives on the behaviour of fine-grained deposits in arid to semi-arid climates with deep groundwater levels.

Disciplines :

Civil engineering

Author, co-author :

Sadeghi, Hamed; Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

JABBARZADEH GHANDILOU, Milad ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Engineering (DoE)

TOURCHI, Saeed ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) > Department of Engineering (DoE)

External co-authors :

yes

Language :

English

Title :

Thermo-hydro-mechanical modelling of the heterogeneous subsidence and swelling in the desiccation cracked clayey strata

Publication date :

December 2024

Journal title :

Engineering Geology

ISSN :

0013-7952

Publisher :

Elsevier B.V.

Volume :

343

Pages :

107798

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0013795224003983?httpAccept=text/xml

Funders :

European Commission
Sharif University of Technology

Funding text :

The financial support provided by the Research Grant Office at Sharif University Technology by way of grants G4010902 and QB020105 is gratefully acknowledged. The author wishes to acknowledge the support of the European Commission via a Marie Curie Fellowship awarded to Dr. Saeed Tourchi through the research grant SLOPETEMP (Grant agreement ID:101033084). Lastly, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Ali Gholaghaei Darzi for his invaluable contribution in the statistical analysis.

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