Modeling the pore structure and shrinkage curve of soil clay matrix

The clay matrix of a soil has a number of characteristics. Many of them are structural features and shrinkage–swelling phenomena including cracking. Hydraulic properties are determined by the geometry of the crack network and pore structure of the clay matrix. The objective of the work is to develop a simple quantitative model of the pore structure and the shrinkage curve of clay matrix through parameters of matrix microstructure. We assume that clay particles (or quasicrystals) form a microstructural network comprising pores of different dimensions, and propose a probabilistic description of such a structure. The model predictions are in quite satisfactory agreement with published experimental data on the pore distribution, microparameters and shrinkage curves of soil clay matrices.