Influence of structure on the mechanical behavior of an agricultural clay soil

Abstract

A better understanding of soil mechanical properties is needed to assess soil compaction in clay soil. To fill that need, a research program was undertaken at Laval University, Quebec city, Canada to ultimately find better solutions in managing Sainte Rosalie clay compacted by liquid manure spreaders.

The soil used for the investigation was collected from a field where soil compaction was monitored. It was statically compacted in loose and dense states to reflect the soil conditions above and below the plow pan. Tests on both saturated and unsaturated samples of Sainte Rosalie clay were then carried out. They were conducted within an isotropic stress state framework to analyze the mechanical behavior of the soil.  

Data gathered from the investigation show that different compaction states lead to different loading-collapse (LC) yield curves.