MoThyMAr

This project is dedicated to the development and implementation of constitutive laws describing the hydromechanical behaviour of clayey soils. Clayey soils are composed of an assembly of clay particles, which are characterised by a layered structure. Consequently, clays are composed of different levels of porosity: inter-layer pores in the particles, inter-aggregate pores between aggregated particles, inter-aggregate pores between aggregates of clay particles. Water retention and water transfers are affected by solid-water interactions at the particle level, osmotic phenomena resulting from differences in solute concentrations between micro- and macropores, as well as capillary phenomena. Besides, the mechanical behaviour and hydraulic behaviour are strongly coupled.

Existing modelling frameworks need to be improved to better reproduce clayey soils behaviour. The project aims at improving the modelling of clayey materials under hydromechanical loadings, either in partially-saturated or fully-saturated conditions.

The main objectives of the project are

(i) a better description of the transition from partially-saturated to fully-saturated conditions in the mechanical constitutive model,

(ii) a better description of the influence of water potential on the mechanical behaviour,

(iii) a better description of the influence of water potential on the water transfers,

(iv) a better description of the influence of clay microstructure on water transfers.