Experimental evidence of size effect in soil cracking

Results of an experimental study on the formation of crack patterns during drying of a soil paste are presented. The objective is to ascertain whether fracture mechanics plays a significant role in explaining the process of formation and propagation of cracks during drying of soils due to changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. The experiments consist of five geometrically similar rectangular specimens in two series of different thicknesses, subjected to drying conditions in an environment-controlled laboratory. Cracking initiates shortly before the soil reaches a near-solid quasi-brittle consistency. Although crack initiation can be explained by classical soil mechanics effective stress theory, crack development and propagation appear to be energy-driven. The results prove that cracking stress does depend on the size of the specimen and suggest that fracture mechanics might be applicable to soil cracking, at least in the context of the present research. Fracture toughness of the soil used was determined using compact tension tests at different water contents. Its tensile strength was also determined by a direct method for two natural specific weights (bulk density) and two dry specific weights with different water contents.