Soil compaction

In geotechnical engineering, soil compaction is the process in which stress applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. When stress is applied that causes densification due to water (or other liquid) being displaced from between the soil grains, then consolidation, not compaction, has occurred. Normally, compaction is the result of heavy machinery compressing the soil, but it can also occur due to the passage of, for example, animal feet. In soil science and agronomy, soil compaction is usually a combination of both engineering compaction and consolidation, so may occur due to a lack of water in the soil, the applied stress being internal suction due to water evaporation as well as due to passage of animal feet. Affected soils become less able to absorb rainfall, thus increasing runoff and erosion. Plants have difficulty in compacted soil because the mineral grains are pressed together, leaving little space for air and water,

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (15)

Related publications

Related people (3)

Related people

Related units (1)

Related units

Related concepts (16)

Related concepts

Related courses (8)

Related courses

Related lectures (17)

Related lectures

Assessment of soil compaction using soil shrinkage modelling : Experimental data and perspectives

Pascal Boivin

2006

The Permeability of Porous Volcanic Rock Through the Brittle-Ductile Transition

Michael Heap, Gabriel Gérard Dominique Meyer, Corentin Jean-Marie Rémi Noël, Marie Estelle Solange Violay

The permeability of volcanic rock controls the distribution of pore fluids and pore fluid pressure within a volcanic edifice, and is therefore considered to influence eruptive style and volcano deformation. We measured the porosity and permeability of a porous volcanic rock during deformation in the brittle and ductile regimes. In the brittle regime, permeability decreases by a factor of 2-6 up to the peak stress due the closure of narrow pore throats but, following shear fracture formation, remains approximately constant as strain is accommodated by sliding on the fracture. In the ductile regime, permeability continually decreases, by up to an order of magnitude, as a function of strain. Although compaction in the ductile regime is localized, permeability is not reduced substantially due to the tortuous and diffuse nature of the compaction bands, the geometry of which was also influenced by a pore shape preferred orientation. Although the evolution of the permeability of the studied porous volcanic rock in the brittle and ductile regimes is qualitatively similar to that for porous sedimentary rocks, the porosity sensitivity exponent of permeability in the elastic regime is higher than found previously for porous sedimentary rocks. This exponent decreases during shear-enhanced compaction toward a value theoretically derived for granular media, suggesting that the material is effectively granulating. Indeed, cataclastic pore collapse evolves the microstructure to one that is more granular. Understanding how permeability can evolve in a volcanic edifice will improve the accuracy of models designed to assist volcano monitoring and volcanic hazard mitigation.

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION2022

Modeling snow and avalanches with the Material Point Method and finite strain elastoplasticity

Lars Kristoffer Uhlen Blatny, Johan Alexandre Philippe Gaume, Xingyue Li, Bertil Trottet

Snow is a complex and fascinating material which can sustain stresses like a solid or flow like a fluid depending upon the load it is subjected to. The transition from solid to fluid state can lead to catastrophic snow slab avalanches. Modeling large deformations, compaction, fractures and contacts involved in snow and avalanche mechanics requires both suitable constitutive models and an appropriate numerical framework. Recently, the Material Point Method (MPM), a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian continuum approach, has shown great promise in modeling complex processes involved in snow avalanche release and flow in a unified manner. This includes compaction hardening, anticrack nucleation and propagation during slab avalanche release and flow regime transition reported in avalanche dynamics. In this Chapter, we first introduce the state of the art in snow and avalanche mechanics as well as related modeling challenges. Second, we recall finite strain elastoplasticity theory and the MPM algorithm. Third, we describe different constitutive snow models based on damage or critical state soil mechanics. Finally, we show the application of MPM to snow microstructure compression, anticrack propagation in avalanche release as well as avalanche dynamics.

The Alliance of Laboratories in Europe for Education, Research and Technology2020

Soil

Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definition

Landfill

A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposa

Geotechnical engineering

Geotechnical engineering, also known as geotechnics, is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and roc

ENV-222: Soil sciences

Le cours est une introduction aux Sciences du sol. Il a pour but de présenter les principales caractéristiques, propriétés et fonctions des sols. Il fait appel à des notions théoriques mais également à des cas d'étude pratique à l'aide d'exercices et de travaux pratiques.

CIVIL-306: Geotechnical engineering

Les étudiants connaissent les techniques de calculs et de réalisation des fondation d'ouvrages et de soutènement des en terrain meuble.
Ils savent déterminer les facteurs influençant un projet géotechnique et dimensionner les ouvrages afin de satisfaire les états limites externes

CIVIL-203: Soil mechanics and Groundwater seepage

Le cours donne les bases de la mécanique des sols et des écoulements souterrains. Il aborde les notions de caractérisation expérimentale des sols, les principales théories pour les relations constitutives et les écoulements des fluides. Les problèmes types de géotechnique y sont également traités.