Chapter 19
Mud Shrinkage and Cracking
Phenomenon Experimental Identification
Using Digital Image Correlation
Mahdia Hattab, Said Taibi, and Jean-Marie Fleureau
Abstract The main goal of this research was to try, experimentally, to identify the
cause of initiation and propagation of cracks network related to desiccation. The
work may provide a better understanding of the drying behavior in clayey soils.
Kaolin, which is a little swelling “nearly pure” kaolinite, was studied in this context.
The experimental method is based on the determination of the local two-dimensional
strains and displacements fields using the softwares Vic-2D and Vic-3D on thin layers
of the initially saturated clay. Using digital image correlation technique at the macroscopic level, the analyses of strain fields during drying allow to clearly identify and
characterize different phenomena such as: shrinkage, stress concentration, initiation,
and propagation of cracks.
19.1 Introduction
Soils cracking phenomenon due to desiccation is among the more complex issues
that arise in the geotechnical engineering field. The phenomenon, related to the
clayey soil behavior, can have a severe impact on the bulk properties of soils,
reducing strength, affecting compression ability, increasing permeability, etc. Consequently, the mechanical performances, as well as the hydric properties of the material, weaken, causing in many circumstances, sometime dramatically, damages in
geotechnical structures, earthen structures, and soil-supported structures. One can
M. Hattab (B)
Laboratoire d’Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux, Université de Lorraine,
CNRS UMR 7239, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 57000 Metz, France
e-mail: mahdia.hattab@univ-lorraine.fr
S. Taibi
Laboratoire Ondes et Milieux Complexes, CNRS UMR 6294, Université Le Havre Normandie, 53
Rue de Prony, BP540, 76058 Le Havre CEDEX, France
J.-M. Fleureau
Laboratoire de Mécanique des Sols, Structures et Matériaux, CNRS UMR 8579, Université
Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, 3 Rue Joliot Curie, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
F. dell’Isola and L. Igumnov (eds.), Dynamics, Strength of Materials and Durability
in Multiscale Mechanics, Advanced Structured Materials 137,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53755-5_19
379
Mud Shrinkage and Cracking
Phenomenon Experimental Identification
Using Digital Image Correlation
Mahdia Hattab, Said Taibi, and Jean-Marie Fleureau
Abstract The main goal of this research was to try, experimentally, to identify the
cause of initiation and propagation of cracks network related to desiccation. The
work may provide a better understanding of the drying behavior in clayey soils.
Kaolin, which is a little swelling “nearly pure” kaolinite, was studied in this context.
The experimental method is based on the determination of the local two-dimensional
strains and displacements fields using the softwares Vic-2D and Vic-3D on thin layers
of the initially saturated clay. Using digital image correlation technique at the macroscopic level, the analyses of strain fields during drying allow to clearly identify and
characterize different phenomena such as: shrinkage, stress concentration, initiation,
and propagation of cracks.
19.1 Introduction
Soils cracking phenomenon due to desiccation is among the more complex issues
that arise in the geotechnical engineering field. The phenomenon, related to the
clayey soil behavior, can have a severe impact on the bulk properties of soils,
reducing strength, affecting compression ability, increasing permeability, etc. Consequently, the mechanical performances, as well as the hydric properties of the material, weaken, causing in many circumstances, sometime dramatically, damages in
geotechnical structures, earthen structures, and soil-supported structures. One can
M. Hattab (B)
Laboratoire d’Etude des Microstructures et de Mécanique des Matériaux, Université de Lorraine,
CNRS UMR 7239, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 57000 Metz, France
e-mail: mahdia.hattab@univ-lorraine.fr
S. Taibi
Laboratoire Ondes et Milieux Complexes, CNRS UMR 6294, Université Le Havre Normandie, 53
Rue de Prony, BP540, 76058 Le Havre CEDEX, France
J.-M. Fleureau
Laboratoire de Mécanique des Sols, Structures et Matériaux, CNRS UMR 8579, Université
Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, 3 Rue Joliot Curie, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
F. dell’Isola and L. Igumnov (eds.), Dynamics, Strength of Materials and Durability
in Multiscale Mechanics, Advanced Structured Materials 137,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53755-5_19
379