ABSTRACT

Figure 1 shows the progression of cracking on the free surface of the bentonite clay sample. The cracking was the result of water being removed by evaporation from the clay sample. This water removal caused the desiccation cracking of the clay. The water evaporation from the sample took place under a constant air temperature that was equal to 25oC. The first crack developed after 110 hours of desiccation and penetrated 0.5 cm into the depth of the clay layer [Figure. 1(A)]). The degree of cracking shown in Figures 1(B), 1(C), and 1(D) was recorded at 114, 123, and 155 hours of desiccation respectively. Fig. 2 shows a photograph of the clay sample at the end of the desiccation process [Figure 1(D)].