Free desiccation shrinkage process in clayey soils

During the drying process, an initially saturated clay deforms mainly due to the loss of water. It causes clay shrinkage that represents one of the fundamental reasons of cracking by desiccation. It is of great interest to understand the desiccation process in such complex soils. However, the main point is that many properties of the material, such as water content distribution, displacement, strain and stress fields, remain difficult to reach by experimental approach only. Numerical simulations may help estimate these variables, and reinforce in a significant way the experimental measurements. The proposed method of analysis allows to understand more deeply the process of drying in clays including shrinkage, crack initiation and finally, crack network development. This research, combining numerical simulations and laboratory tests allows to go further in investigating the drying phenomenon in remolded and initially saturated kaolinitic clay.