Quantification of desiccation cracks using image analysis technique

This paper portrays a neoteric methodology for quantifying surface cracks and shrinkage that appears in the soil after desiccation under certain atmospheric conditions using image analysis technique. Soils over a wide range of plasticity are prepared by mixing high plastic sodium bentonite with non-plastic fly ash. Cylindrical specimens with different thickness, initial moisture content and densities were prepared and allowed to desiccate at an average temperature of 25 degrees C and relative humidity of 40%. The ImageJ software is used for image processing and Matlab for quantification of surface cracks and shrinkage in the specimens. The effect of different parameters like plasticity of soil, sample thickness, and initial moisture content on surface cracks and shrinkage are expressed in terms of crack density factor (CDF) and crack intensity factor (CIF). The result shows that both CDF and CIF increase with an increase in the plasticity index of the soil and initial moisture content of the specimens. In contrast; with the increase in sample thickness, CDF decreases slightly whereas CIF increases.