The geometry of soil crack networks

TL;DR

This paper refines a method to better estimate soil crack network characteristics by incorporating corrected soil crack volume and shrinkage geometry factors, validated with lysimeter data.

Contribution

It introduces a modified approach that accounts for corrected crack volume and geometry factors based on recent soil shrinkage data, improving estimation accuracy.

Findings

Enhanced estimation of soil crack network characteristics.

Validation with lysimeter data supports the modified approach.

Improved understanding of soil cracking geometry.

Abstract

The subject of this work is the modification and specification of an approach to detail the estimation of soil crack network characteristics. The modification aims at accounting for the corrected soil crack volume based on the corrected shrinkage geometry factor compared to known estimates of crack volume and shrinkage geometry factor. The mode of the correction relies on recent results of the soil reference shrinkage curve. The main exposition follows the preliminary brief review of available approaches to dealing with the geometry of soil crack networks and gives a preliminary brief summary of the approach to be modified and specified. To validate and illustrate the modified approach the latter is used in the analysis of available data on soil cracking in a lysimeter.