Propiedades de retención de humedad de arcillas fisuradas: una herramienta para el análisis de problemas asociados a desecación

Abstract

The water retention properties are a key aspect to understand the hydromechanical behavior of cracked fissured clayey soils, and their interaction with engineering structures such as pavements, shallow foundations and the water flow in wetting - drying processes. These materials are mainly fine-grained soils classified as CL, CH, ML and MH groups in the unified soil classification system. In these materials, which frequently have particle sizes below 0.002 mm in size, the capillary phenomenon is common above the water table, allowing the rise of water through the interstices of the particles. When the soil is subjected to processes of loss of moisture, and with to the capillary phenomenon, stresses associated with negative pore water pressure are generated, fissuring and volumetric contractions causes instability in the mineral skeleton of these materials and in some structures resting on them. The water retention properties are the result of the relationship between moisture content, saturation degree, void ratio and total unit weight relative to the negative water pressure existing in the pores. The nature of these properties determines the main trends of engineering properties of clayey materials over the ground water level, such as the strength and the stiffness.