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Variations non‐uniformes de volume et de teneur en eau en sol argileux gonflant: II. Etude expérimentale d'un Vertisol
Author(s) -
CABIDOCHE Y.M.,
VOLTZ M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
european journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 1351-0754
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1995.tb01331.x
Subject(s) - vertisol , soil water , soil science , anisotropy , geology , isotropy , swelling , volume (thermodynamics) , water content , field (mathematics) , geotechnical engineering , materials science , mathematics , physics , composite material , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
Summary A theoretical model of volume change in swelling clay soil is applied in a field study to determine the swelling‐shrinking behaviour of a Vertisol in Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The field experiment estimated the spatial averages of vertical soil movements and soil water content changes by measurements at the intersections of a sampling grid. The geometry of volume change was found to be anisotropic with vertical soil movements slightly larger than horizontal ones. The observed anisotropy seems to arise because the peds slide along oblique slickensides whereas individual peds shrink and expand isotropically. The discrepancy with earlier field results which indicated strictly isotropic volume changes is thought to arise in part from a difference in the nature of the clay soils investigated. An uncertainty analysis of the experiment shows that the main source of error is due to the estimation of the spatial averages of soil elevation.