Modelling with Transparent Soils: Visualizing Soil Structure Interaction and Multi Phase Flow, Non-Intrusively (Springer Series in Geomechanics and Geoengineering)
The fundamental premise of this monograph is that transparent synthetic materials with geotechnical properties similar to those of natural soils can be used to study 3D deformation and flow problems in natural soils. Transparent soils can be made by matching the refractive index of synthetic soil materials and the pore fluid. This monographs presents the geotechnical behaviour of several families of transparent soils that can be combined to meet model-test requirements, in terms of strength, deformation, or permeability. "Modelling with Transparent Soils" demonstrates how an optical system consisting of a laser light, a CCD camera, a frame grabber, and a PC can be used to measure spatial deformations in transparent soil models non-intrusively. Transparent soil models are sliced optically using a laser light sheet. A distinctive speckle pattern is generated by the interaction of the laser light and transparent soil. A 2D deformation field is obtained from two speckle images by using...
