This dissertation presents an investigation of engineering behavior of expansive
soils. An analytical study was undertaken for the development and modification of a
Windows-based two-dimensional finite element computer program FLODEF that
performs a sequentially coupled flow-displacement analysis for the prediction of
moisture diffusion and the induced volume change in soils supporting various elements
of civil infrastructure. The capabilities of the model are illustrated through case studies
of shear strength envelope forecast and parametric studies of transient flow-deformation
prediction in highway project sites to evaluate the effectiveness of engineering treatment
methods to control swell-shrink deformations beneath highway pavements. Numerical
simulations have been performed to study the field moisture diffusivity using a
conceptual model of moisture diffusion in a fractured soil mass. A rough correlation
between field and the laboratory measurements of moisture diffusion coefficients has
been presented for different crack depth patterns.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4313 |
| Date | 30 October 2006 |
| Creators | Long, Xiaoyan |
| Contributors | Aubeny, Charles Paul, Lytton, Robert |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 3992917 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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