Integrated effects on the shrinkage stresses from the water loss in soft cohesive soils

The objective of this paper is to explain field shrinkage-crack associations formed on a homogeneous soil surface layer due to withdrawal of the interstitial water. The research is focused towards an integrated approach model for soft cohesive soils and it is based on the principles of irreversible thermodynamics. Although a clay–silty soil is used as an example to explain geomorphic features changes in soil surface layers, the premise of the presented model may be generalised to explain shrinkage-crack associations in other stressed materials. The advantage of this method is that the utilised parameters are all measurable in situ.