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In Situ Soil Moisture Sensors in Undisturbed Soils
Published on: November 18, 2022
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Dataset for Comprehensive Analysis of Desiccation Cracks in Soils
Amirali Asadian1, Farshid Vahedifard1,2, Chao-Sheng Tang3
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
Scientific Data
|February 27, 2026
Summary
A new dataset, D-CRACKS, compiles 1,000 soil desiccation cracking images. This resource aids in understanding soil cracking for infrastructure integrity and developing predictive models.
Area of Science:
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Soil Mechanics
- Civil Engineering
Background:
- Soil cracking, specifically desiccation cracking, presents significant risks to the stability of slopes and earthen infrastructure.
- Understanding the mechanisms and patterns of soil cracking is crucial for effective risk mitigation and design.
- Existing research on soil cracking is fragmented across numerous studies, hindering comprehensive analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce the Desiccation Cracks in Soils (D-CRACKS) dataset, a comprehensive compilation of soil desiccation cracking images.
- To provide a structured and queryable database for analyzing soil cracking phenomena.
- To facilitate the development of data-driven models and validate numerical simulations for soil cracking.
Main Methods:
- Compilation of 1,000 images from 41 literature studies on laboratory soil desiccation cracking tests.
- Implementation of a Structured Query Language (SQL)-based database for efficient data management and retrieval.
- Extraction and analysis of key crack parameters (area, ratio, length, width) from cleaned image data.
- Statistical analysis to identify trends across different soil types and testing conditions.
Main Results:
- The D-CRACKS dataset includes detailed metadata for each image, covering testing conditions, soil properties, boundary constraints, environmental factors, and admixture details.
- Extracted crack properties reveal variability and trends influenced by soil type and experimental conditions.
- The database structure allows for efficient querying and filtering of specific soil cracking scenarios.
Conclusions:
- The D-CRACKS dataset provides a valuable, structured resource for advancing the study of soil desiccation cracking.
- This dataset will support the development of advanced data-driven predictive models for soil cracking.
- D-CRACKS will serve as a crucial tool for validating physics-based numerical simulations of soil cracking behavior.
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