Hysteresis in soil mechanical behavior

The performance of a vertical tine was investigated at various water contents during wetting and drying cycles in a clay-loam soil. Results showed that at a given water content the soil during the wetting cycle failed by fracture mode and offered relatively more draft. Soil during the drying cycle cracked, and when a tine was pushed through the soil, it failed along the cracks. This failure mode was referred to as preferential fracture. For a given water content, tine forces and soil shear strength properties were found to be greater during the wetting cycle than the drying cycle, which leads to the conclusion that there is a hysteresis effect in soil caused by drying stress induced by seasonal wetting and drying.