The physics of desiccation cracks 1: Ductile fracturing and dependence on relative humidity

Abstract

Ductile deformation is ubiquitously found in the shrinkage of geomaterials. The existence of ductility requires elastoplastic mechanics when analyzing the structure deformation under external stress. In this work, we explore the physics of ductile fracturing based on the results from desiccation experiments and triaxial tests. By using the digital image correlation (DIC) method to generate the strain maps of samples undergoing desiccation cracking under different relative humidities, we obtain results showing the previously postulated Cnoidal Wave ductile failure patterns propagating under atmospheric condition-controlled crack velocities. We then correlate these observations with rate-dependent plasticity models calibrated through triaxial tests undergoing several unloading–reloading cycles and velocity stepping. This work demonstrates the necessity to consider ductility in soil cracking, indicating that the formation of crack patterns in soil desiccation is a slow and predictable process.