Numerical study on the effect of crack network representation on water content in cracked soil

The presence of cracks changes the water content pattern during seepage through a cracked soil as compared to that of intact soil. In addition, several different crack networks may form in one soil type. These two factors result in a variation of water contents in the soil matrix part of a cracked soil during seepage. This paper presents an investigation of the effect of crack network representation on the water content of the soil matrix part of cracked soil using numerical models. A new method for the numerical generation of crack networks incorporating connections among crack endpoints was developed as part of the investigation. Numerical analysis results indicated that the difference in the point water content was large, whereas the difference in the average water content was relatively small, indicating the uniqueness of the crack network representation on the average water content of the soil matrix part of cracked soil.