Numerical Modeling of Water Flow in Expansive Soils with Simplified Description of Soil Deformation

Abstract In this paper we describe a numerical model of transient water flow in unsaturated expansive soils and the resulting soil volume change. The unsaturated flow equation is solved in a 2D domain using a finite-volume method and an explicit time discretization scheme. Strains in the soil mass are calculated by two simplified approaches, assuming that the strain state is either 1D (in the vertical direction only) or 2D with equal strains in horizontal and vertical directions. The model is applied to two cases described in the literature, in which the strains were computed from the solution of the stress equilibrium equation. It is shown that the simplified methods give results which are reasonably close to the more complex approach based on the equilibrium equations. The proposed model can be used to predict time-varying soil shrinkage and swelling caused by natural and anthropogenic factors.