Unsaturated expansive soil fissure characteristics combined with engineering behaviors

Abstract

The relationship among the surface fissure ratio, moisture content, seepage coefficient and deformation modulus of field unsaturated expansive soil in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, was obtained by a direct or indirect method. Digital images of expansive soil of the surface fissure with different moisture contents were analyzed with the binarization statistic method. In addition, the fissure fractal dimension was computed with a self-compiled program. Combined with in situ seepage and loading plate tests, the relationship among the surface fissure ratio, moisture content, seepage coefficient and deformation modulus was initially established. The surface fissure ratio and moisture content show a linear relation, “y=−0.019 1x+1.028 5” for rufous expansive soil and “y=−0.071x+2.610 5” for grey expansive soil. Soil initial seepage coefficient and surface fissure ratio show a power function relation, “y=1×10−9exp(15.472x)” for rufous expansive soil and “y=5×10−7exp(4.209 6x)” for grey expansive soil. Grey expansive soil deformation modulus and surface fissure ratio show a power function relation of “y=3.935 7exp(0.993 6x)”. Based on the binarization and fractal dimension methods, the results show that the surface fissure statistics can depict the fissure distribution in the view of two dimensions. And the evolvement behaviors of permeability and the deformation modulus can indirectly describe the developing state of the fissure. The analysis reflects that the engineering behaviors of unsaturated expansive soil are objectively influenced by fissure.