Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Soil compressibility is a phenomenon linked to the partially sinking of structures, which in turn, produces fissures in floors, walls, columns, and other structural elements. Also it involves the development of pressures generated in the water (primary phase) and the soil (secondary phase) on time. These can be explained using percolation principles. In this paper a novel alternative for the analysis of the abovementioned phenomena is presented. Indeed, via percolation, according to the water being expelled from the soil under different loading conditions is considered. Nets of sites of given dimension with a determined number of occupied sites (amount of soil particles) and other of empty sites (initial amount of water in the soil) are defined. Each net simulates the soil stresses by means of the cumulative probability after each load. Finally, the necessary nets were constructed with less amount of empty sites according to the water being expelled from soil on time under each load and therefore, of lesser dimensions to determine the critical percolation (starting of structural friction of soils).
Keywords: Compressibility, soils, percolation.