Creep Crack Propagation and Interaction in Stiff Clays Forming Earth Dams

土坝及其基础的许多破坏和事故， 由于存在裂缝导致的集中水泄漏， 压实的粘土形成土坝。 未充分注意 土坝安全的研究人员提出了一个主题， 时间相关的裂纹扩展和相互作用的刚性粘土，如 那些形成土坝的部分。 这将在本 项目 具体而言，该项目将在实验室研究 裂纹生长和相互作用的机制 承受恒定（蠕变）和静态的脆性粘土 增加双轴和三轴应力条件，并研究其影响 粘土含水量、裂缝数量以及 它们的方向、长度、间隔和重叠 裂纹在脆性粘土样品中扩展并相互作用。

Many failures and accidents in earth dams and their foundations have been attributed to concentrated water leaks caused by cracks present in the compacted clays forming the earth dams. Insufficient attention has been given by researchers of earth dam safety to the topic of time-dependent crack growth and interaction in stiff clays such as those forming part of earth dams. This will be addressed in this project. Specifically, the project will study in the laboratory the mechanisms by which cracks grow and interact in prismatic samples of brittle clay subjected to constant (creep) as well as statically increasing biaxial and triaxial stress conditions, and study the effect that parameters such as clay water content, number of cracks as well as their orientation, length, separation and overlap have on the way cracks propagate and interact in brittle clay samples.