X-ray imaging of mechanical processes in soil

TY - CHAP

T1 - X-ray imaging of mechanical processes in soil

AU - Lamandé, Mathieu

AU - Munkholm, Lars Juhl

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Soils are generally subjected to a range of mechanical stresses. These stresses can be applied by soil biota (e.g. earthworms, roots), during wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, by trampling of animals and humans, or by machinery during agricultural operations (e.g. tillage, traffic). The resulting deformations and their effects on soil functions are complex. They can be quantified through bulk measurements (e.g. water and gas transport parameters), where the interpretation is based on conceptualisation of soil pore space (e.g. Arah & Ball, 1994). An alternative approach, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging solves the issue of soil opacity and allows three-dimensional observations of the internal changes in soil structure (Taina et al., 2008; Chap. 6). This can be used to evaluate our interpretation of bulk measurements and the concepts for the soil pore system. Our knowledge of the stress-strain relationships of unsaturated structured soils is theoretical, with simplifications of soil intrinsic properties (e.g. Burland, 1990), and empirical, based on bulk observations where the stress-strain relationships are then given by constitutive equations (Koolen & Kuipers, 1983). Developments in X-ray imaging techniques have facilitated our understanding of the mechanical processes in soil. This chapter will present a range of studies reporting these developments and will give perspectives of using X-ray imaging in soil mechanics related research.

AB - Soils are generally subjected to a range of mechanical stresses. These stresses can be applied by soil biota (e.g. earthworms, roots), during wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, by trampling of animals and humans, or by machinery during agricultural operations (e.g. tillage, traffic). The resulting deformations and their effects on soil functions are complex. They can be quantified through bulk measurements (e.g. water and gas transport parameters), where the interpretation is based on conceptualisation of soil pore space (e.g. Arah & Ball, 1994). An alternative approach, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) imaging solves the issue of soil opacity and allows three-dimensional observations of the internal changes in soil structure (Taina et al., 2008; Chap. 6). This can be used to evaluate our interpretation of bulk measurements and the concepts for the soil pore system. Our knowledge of the stress-strain relationships of unsaturated structured soils is theoretical, with simplifications of soil intrinsic properties (e.g. Burland, 1990), and empirical, based on bulk observations where the stress-strain relationships are then given by constitutive equations (Koolen & Kuipers, 1983). Developments in X-ray imaging techniques have facilitated our understanding of the mechanical processes in soil. This chapter will present a range of studies reporting these developments and will give perspectives of using X-ray imaging in soil mechanics related research.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166130891&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-12176-0_8

DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-12176-0_8

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 978-3-031-12175-3

SN - 978-3-031-12178-4

SP - 113

EP - 127

BT - X-ray imaging of the soil porous architecture

A2 - J. Mooney, Sacha

A2 - J. Heck, Richard

A2 - M. Young, Iain

A2 - Peth, Stephan

PB - Springer

CY - Cham

ER -