Wetting and drying, effect on soil physical properties

Abstract

Cyclic wetting and drying impacts the strength, swell, and collapse behavior of soil specimens. Cyclic wetting and drying increase the strength of natural soil specimens from growth of bonds. Though dry density impacts the vertical swell magnitude of expansive soils in the compacted state, it is unable to control the vertical swell magnitude of expansive soils subjected to repeated wetting and drying. The compaction dry density plays a significant role in the volumetric swell magnitudes of expansive specimens subjected to cycles of wetting and drying. Densely compacted specimens experience lesser shrinkage and therefore develop smaller volumetric swell potential upon subject to wetting–drying cycles. Wetting–drying processes degrade the cementation bonds in lime-stabilized specimens. Expansive soils treated with lime contents that are below the ICL value are more vulnerable to the wetting–drying effects. Soils that can experience both swelling and collapse strains on saturation (example red soils) react differently to wetting–drying effects. The reduction in void ratio from cyclic wetting and drying increases the swelling tendency but reduces the collapse tendency of the red soils.