Mud Shrinkage and Cracking Phenomenon Experimental Identification Using Digital Image Correlation
Résumé
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.