Clay is used in the domain of construction material since a long time. Several problems are related to clay behaviour in some temperature and relative humidity variations. For this reason, researchers are looking for improving the clay behaviour by stabilization using high temperature or by adding synthetic or natural fibers. In this work, two tests are conducted to notice the effect of rock gravel addition into a clayey soil. For each specimen crack pattern is observed and characterized using an image analysis technique. Also, some hydraulic parameters are quantified: water content, evaporation rate, saturation degree and porosity versus time. The main objective of the paper is to present a study on active clay strains generated by shrinkage and their consequences on building and civil structure. In the first part of the paper, the testing devices are described. Strains induced by desiccation conditions without external mechanical stress, are observed in two cases: soil specimen and reinforced specimen (with rock inclusion). The results showed that, under these conditions, vertical strain depends on the percentage of rock inclusion. As a conclusion, it could be stated that the settlement depends on the rock inclusion percentage during a desiccation process.
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