Abstract
Desiccation cracks exhibit a hysteresis behavior, referred to as crack
dynamic hysteresis (CDH), where they display different geometric
characteristics during the drying and wetting phases at constant soil
water content. CDH has a complex effect on slope stability, an aspect
often overlooked in analytical and numerical methods. In this study, we
conducted experimental and numerical analyses to provide new insights
into the effects of CDH on slope stability. A series of laboratory
experiments on desiccation cracking under D-W cycles were performed. The
testing results were used to develop and validate an extended dynamic
dual-permeability model (DDPM). The proposed DDPM was integrated into a
set of slope stability analyses using the finite element method. The
numerical model findings show that CDH causes greater fluctuations in
crack dynamics and increases soil water retention under D-W cycles.
Neglecting CDH leads to underestimations of slope stability during dry
conditions and overestimations during wet conditions.