Present paper evaluates quantitatively the structural development of the undisturbed clayish soils in connection with their shrinkage behavior.
Results obtained may be summarized as follows:
1) The shrinkage type of undisturbed soils was classified into four groups on the basis of the formal features of the shrinkage curve (
Fig.1-6, Table 3).
2) The shrinkage types depended on the clay content and was related to the three soil phases (
Fig. 9 and 10).
3) The soil volume change due to total shrinkage depended on the shrinkage type (
Table 3), and it was related to the clay content and the degree of saturation (
Fig. 11).
4) As a comparison of the shrinkage curve of undisturbed soils with that of remoulded soils, the slope of the normal shrinkage was larger in the remoulded soils than in the undisturbed soils, whereas the slope of residual shrinkage was nearly equal in both soils (
Fig. 12 and 13).
5) In regard to the quantitative indx of the structural development of the undisturbed soils, the “Coefficient of structural development (C
sd) ” was defined. It is expressed by the ratio (
ef)
U to (
ef)
R, and (
ef)
U designates the final void ratio in the shrinkage curve of the undisturbed soils, and (
ef)
R is for the remoulded soils (
Fig. 15 and Table 4).
6) On the basis of shrinkage behavior, the pore volume of the undisturbed soil was classified for the shrinking pore, structural pore and dead pore (Fig. 15). The structural pore volume increased in proportion to “
Csd”(
Fig. 16).
7) The saturated hydraulic conductivity and the water content under pF 3. 0 were closely related to “
Csd”(
Fig. 17, 19 and
Table 5).
8) A certain correspondence between the kinds of morphological soil structure and “
Csd” was recognized, that is, “
Csd” increased in order of the massive structure, blocky structure and granular structure (
Table 6).
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