Generalized Equation for Soil Shrinkage Curve
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 8
Abstract
The soil shrinkage curve (SSC) defines a constitutive relationship between soil volume and water content under drying conditions. Nearly all work to date considers a zero volume shrinkage for water content below a certain value such as shrinkage limit, which contradicts some recent experimental evidence of pervasive nonzero shrinkage for clayey soils. This paper uses a soil-water retention (SWR)-based conception to theorize such nonzero shrinkage behavior by considering the mechanical effect of capillary and adsorptive SWR mechanisms. A mathematical equation for SSC in the full water content range is developed, which conceptualizes a linear relation for adsorption shrinkage and a sigmoid relation for capillary shrinkage. The equation is validated with test data for a variety of soils. For given soils, the maximum adsorption water contents inferred independently from the SWR and SSC data are highly correlated, with a factor of 2.47. The analysis shows that the adsorption shrinkage rate is strongly correlated with the SWR characteristics of specific surface area (SSA) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). A universal exponential form between the adsorption shrinkage rate and SSA and between the adsorption shrinkage rate and CEC is discovered for silty and clayey soils.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the US National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. CMMI 1233063 and CMMI 1230544), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11302243). The first author is also supported by the Chinese Academy of Science for overseas study.
References
Assi, A., J. Accola, G. Hovhannissian, R. H. Mohtar, and E. Braudeau. 2014. “Physics of the soil medium organization. Part 2: Pedostructure characterization through measurement and modeling of the soil moisture characteristic curves.” Front. Environ. Sci. 2 (5): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2014.00005.
Boivin, P., P. Garnier, and D. Tessier. 2004. “Relationship between clay content, clay type, and shrinkage properties of soil samples.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68 (4): 1145–1153. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.1145.
Boivin, P., P. Garnier, and M. Vauclin. 2006. “Modeling the soil shrinkage and water retention curves with the same equations.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 70 (4): 1082–1093. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2005.0218.
Braudeau, E., J. M. Costantini, G. Bellier, and H. Colleuille. 1999. “New device and method for soil shrinkage curve measurement and characterization.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63 (3): 525–535. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1999.03615995006300030015x.
Braudeau, E., M. Sene, and R. H. Mohtar. 2005. “Hydrostructural characteristic of two African tropical soils.” Eur. J. Soil Sci. 56 (3): 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2004.00679.x.
Chertkov, V. Y. 2003. “Modelling the shrinkage curve of soil clay pastes.” Geoderma 112 (1–2): 71–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(02)00297-5.
Cornelis, W. M., J. Corluy, H. Medina, J. Diaz, R. Hartmann, M. Van Meirvenne, and M. E. Ruiz. 2006. “Measuring and modelling the soil shrinkage characteristic curve.” Geoderma 137 (1–2): 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.08.022.
Crescimanno, G., and G. Provenzano. 1999. “Soil shrinkage characteristic curve in clay soils: Measurement and prediction.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 63 (1): 25–32. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1999.03615995006300010005x.
Dong, Y., and N. Lu. 2016. “Correlation between small-strain shear modulus and suction stress in capillary regime under zero total stress conditions.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (11): 04016056. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001531.
Dong, Y., and N. Lu. 2017. “Measurement of suction-stress characteristic curve under drying and wetting conditions.” Geotech. Test. J. 40 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20160058.
Fredlund, M. D., G. W. Wilson, and D. G. Fredlund. 2002. “Representation and estimation of the shrinkage curve.” In Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils (UNSAT 2002), edited by De C. Jucá and Marinho, 145–149. Lisse, Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger.
Groenevelt, P. H., and G. H. Bolt. 1972. “Water retention in soil.” Soil Sci. 113 (4): 238–245. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-197204000-00003.
Haines, W. B. 1923. “The volume-changes associated with variations of water content in soil.” J. Agric. Sci. 13 (3): 296–310. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859600003580.
Khorshidi, M., and N. Lu. 2017a. “Determination of cation exchange capacity from soil water retention curve.” J. Eng. Mech. 143 (6): 04017023. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EM.1943-7889.0001220.
Khorshidi, M., and N. Lu. 2017b. “Intrinsic relation between soil water retention and cation exchange capacity.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (4): 04016119. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001633.
Khorshidi, M., N. Lu, I. Akin, and W. Likos. 2017. “Intrinsic relationship between specific surface area and soil water retention.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (1): 04016078. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001572.
Kim, D. J., H. Vereecken, J. Feyen, D. Boels, and J. J. B. Bronswijk. 1992. “On the characterization of properties of an unripe marine clay soil. I: Shrinkage processes of an unripe marine clay soil in relation to physical ripening.” Soil Sci. 153 (6): 471–481. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-199206000-00006.
Leong, E. C., and M. Wijaya. 2015. “Universal soil shrinkage curve equation.” Geoderma 237–238 (Jan): 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.08.012.
Likos, W. J., and N. Lu. 2003. “Automated humidity system for measuring total suction characteristics of clay.” Geotech. Test. J. 26 (2): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ10456262.
Lu, N. 2016. “Generalized soil water retention equation for adsorption and capillarity.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (10): 04016051. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001524.
Lu, N., and Y. Dong. 2017. “Correlation between soil shrinkage curve and water retention characteristics.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (9): 04017054. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001741.
Lu, N., and M. Kaya. 2013. “A drying cake method for measuring suction stress characteristic curve, soil-water retention, and hydraulic conductivity function.” Geotech. Test. J. 36 (1): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20120097.
Lu, N., and M. Kaya. 2014. “Power law for elastic moduli of unsaturated soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 140 (1): 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000990.
Lu, N., and M. Khorshidi. 2015. “Mechanism for soil-water retention and hysteresis at high suction range.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 141 (8): 04015032. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001325.
Lu, N., and W. J. Likos. 2006. “Suction stress characteristic curve for unsaturated soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (2): 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:2(131).
Mathews, J., and R. L. Walker. 1970. Mathematical methods of physics. Vol. 501. New York: WA Benjamin.
McGarry, D., and I. G. Daniells. 1987. “Shrinkage curve indices to quantify cultivation effects on soil structure of a vertisol.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51 (6): 1575–1580. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1987.03615995005100060031x.
McGarry, D., and K. W. J. Malafant. 1987. “The analysis of volume change in unconfined units of soil.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51 (2): 290–297. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1987.03615995005100020005x.
Millette, J. A., and R. S. Broughton. 1984. “The effect of water table in organic soil on subsidence and swelling.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 64 (2): 273–282. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss84-028.
Mitchell, A. R. 1992. “Shrinkage terminology: Escape from ‘normalcy’.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56 (3): 993–994. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1992.03615995005600030053x.
Olsen, P. A., and L. E. Haugen. 1998. “A new model of the shrinkage characteristic applied to some Norwegian soils.” Geoderma 83 (1–2): 67–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(97)00145-6.
Peng, X., and R. Horn. 2005. “Modeling soil shrinkage curve across a wide range of soil types.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 69 (3): 584–592. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.0146.
Peng, X., and R. Horn. 2013. “Identifying six types of soil shrinkage curves from a large set of experimental data.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 77 (2): 372–381. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2011.0422.
Reeve, M. J., and D. G. M. Hall. 1978. “Shrinkage in clayey subsoils of contrasting structure.” J. Soil Sci. 29 (3): 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1978.tb00779.x.
Sridharan, A., and G. V. Rao. 1971. “Effective stress theory of shrinkage phenomena.” Can. Geotech. J. 8 (4): 503–513. https://doi.org/10.1139/t71-052.
Talsam, T. 1977. “A note on the shrinkage behaviour of a clay paste under various loads.” Aust. J. Soil Res. 15 (3): 275–277. https://doi.org/10.1071/SR9770275.
Tariq, A. U. R., and D. S. Durnford. 1993. “Analytical volume change model for swelling clay soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57 (5): 1183–1187. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1993.03615995005700050003x.
Tempany, H. A. 1917. “The shrinkage of soils.” J. Agric. Sci. 8 (3): 312–330. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859600002951.
van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
White, D. J., W. A. Take, and M. D. Bolton. 2003. “Soil deformation measurement using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and photogrammetry.” Geotechnique 53 (7): 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2003.53.7.619.
Wijaya, M., E. C. Leong, and H. Rahardjo. 2015. “Effect of shrinkage on air-entry value of soils.” Soils Found. 55 (1): 166–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2014.12.013.
Zolfaghari, Z., M. R. Mosaddeghi, and S. Ayoubi. 2016. “Relationships of soil shrinkage parameters and indices with intrinsic soil properties and environmental variables in calcareous soils.” Geoderma 277 (Sep): 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2016.04.022.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 8 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 27, 2016
Accepted: Dec 12, 2017
Published online: May 24, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Oct 24, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.