Project Number: 6408-13660-006-12
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2007
End Date: Feb 28, 2012

Objective:
The objective of this cooperative research project is to improve rain infiltration predictions into swelling/shrinking/cracking soils amended with different levels of gypsum.

Approach:
Published in-house research has shown that infiltration into swelling/shrinking/cracking soils can be described as a function of rainfall intensity, sorptivity, and crack morphology (crack depth, width, spacing). Work on this project is designed to improve the relationship between rainfall intensity and crack closure and to ascertain the effect of gypsum on this process. The experiments will be conducted in a 0.75 m x 0.80 m x 0.30 m sample box, packed in a prescribed manner with soil passed through a 2-mm screen and subjected to different rainfall intensities and amended with gypsum at several addition rates. Continuous recordings of cumulative infiltration and runoff will be used to validate the rain infiltration prediction equation as affected by changes in crack morphology due to gypsum additions.