Computer construction of fractal soil structures: Simulation of their hydraulic and shrinkage properties

To study relationships between soil hydraulic properties and soil structural properties, a computer micro model of soil is constructed. We present first a general method of building a two-dimensional porous structure, including both pores and particles, with different levels of aggregation resulting from a fragmentation process. A fractal structure is obtained when self similarity is imposed over the successive scales of fragmentation. Emphasis is put upon the modeling of the retention curve. A classical capillary model and methods taken from percolation theory enable us to simulate qualitatively the primary and secondary loops of this hysteretic curve. In the fractal case, theoretical analytical expressions proposed for adjusting retention data are tested, The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is also calculated on the same simulated soil by analogy with an electrical network. The soil structures are deformable and simulation proves to be a useful tool to investigate the behavior of swelling soils.