Structural soil crust development from raindrop impacts using two-dimensional discrete element method

The mechanical nature of crust formation as a result of raindrop impacts was simulated within a discrete element modeling environment. Simulations were conducted in two-dimensions (2D) using both linear and non-linear elastic contact models. The 2D approach was found to minimize the computational effort required and maximize the number of particles in the soil profile. For the non-linear model, the effect of the coefficient of restitution (COR) for soil-rain and soil-soil was investigated. Finally, the comparison between the linear and nonlinear elastic contact model was presented. The simulation indicated that the COR for rain-soil had negligible effect on the crust development but the computational time was exponentially increased with increasing coefficient value. In contrast, the COR for soil-soil had a dominant influence on the crust development. To validate the numerical results, a micro computerized tomography (microCT) technique was applied to characterize the changes in pore structure to a USCS SP soil after exposure under a rainfall simulator. Additionally, the effect of cyclic wetting and drying (without rainfall) on the changes in porosity was investigated. The experimental results showed that the rainfall simulator sufficiently densified the soil but the effect of cyclic wetting and drying was negligible. The numerical simulations showed similar changes in porosity along the depth of the soil profile as compared with the experimental results thus validating the DEM technique to simulate crust development.