Abstract

CORDAO NETO, Manoel Porfirio et al. Study of the relationship between the hydromechanical soil behavior and microstructure of a structured soil. Earth Sci. Res. J. [online]. 2018, vol.22, n.2, pp.91-101. ISSN 1794-6190.  https://doi.org/10.15446/esrj.v22n2.65640.

Structured soils, such as residual laterites or volcanic ashes, abound in tropical regions. The hydromechanical behavior of these soils is clearly related to their structure. New techniques based on microstructural studies constitute a powerful tool for investigating these soils. This work presents an experimental investigation that documents the relationships between the microstructure and mechanical behavior of these soils. This study focuses on the microstructural behavior of Brasília clay, a structured, highly porous tropical soil (n>50%) with a bimodal pore size distribution (PSD). The microstructure was investigated using PSD analyses of different structural states and void ratios. The mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) technique was used to explore the PSD of samples under various conditions, i.e., natural, compacted, slurry or consolidated states. Modeling of the PSD curves was performed using the bimodal van Genuchten curve, which permits the linking of PSD curves to the water retention curve. We observed that loading and compacting did not affect the micropores of this soil and concluded that the changes occurred entirely within the macropores.

Keywords : hydromechanical behavior; microstructural behavior; pore size distribution.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English     · English ( pdf )