Hydraulic properties analysis of the unsaturated cracked soil

Morphological parameters of cracks significantly affect the hydraulic conductivity of cracked soil. A laboratory test was conducted to study the hydraulic properties of cracks. The dynamic development of cracks in soil during drying and wetting was measured in the test. Based on the test results, the relationships between the morphological parameters and the soil water content were quantified. According to the fractal model, the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) and permeability functions for the cracked soil were predicted based on the dynamical development process of the cracks. A crack-pore dual media model was established to simulate the ponding infiltration in the unsaturated cracked soil. The variations of the pore water pressure in different part of the fractal model are quite different due to the impact of the cracks. This result illustrates that the prediction of the hydraulic properties for the cracked soil is reasonable. © 2017, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.