Managed aquifer recharge is an efficient approach using surface water for groundwater recharge. However, soil clogging in the infiltration systems represents a critical problem that reduces the efficiency of recharge systems. In recent years, much research has been conducted to investigate clogging in subsurface and surface soil (cake). Cake prevents infiltration into the water table and can drastically reduce the recharge rate. In arid and semi-arid areas, alternation of humid and dry seasons has an effect on cake cracking. In the present research, the propagation of desiccation cracking and self-healing of unconsolidated soil (cake), placed in Plexiglas columns, was investigated using X-ray computed tomography (CT) during drying–wetting (DW) paths. The results showed that during the drying path, cracks initiated at the base of the soil by friction with the bottom of the column and then propagated to the top surface of the cake. As the drying time increased, evaporation at the top surface led to more cracks growing from the surface than from the bottom of the cake. However, the cracks at the bottom tended to stabilize because the water content was greater than at the top surface. The initiation, propagation, and expansion of the cracks developed in the saturated condition of the cake. During the wetting path, some cracks were closed while others appeared. The cracks tended to close progressively with wetting time, highlighting the self-healing phenomenon, probably due to the high plasticity index of cake soil. The results showed that cake swelling is mainly related to an increase of the void ratio due to a decrease in suction between particles. The results demonstrate the capacity of the X-ray CT technique to investigate the evolution of cracks during DW paths.

管理含水层补给是利用地表水补给地下水的有效方法。然而，渗透系统中的土壤堵塞代表了降低补给系统效率的关键问题。近年来，已经进行了大量研究来调查地下和表层土壤（饼）中的堵塞情况。滤饼可防止渗入地下水位，并可显着降低补给率。在干旱和半干旱地区，干湿季节交替对蛋糕开裂有影响。在本研究中，使用 X 射线计算机断层扫描 (CT) 在干燥-湿润过程中研究了放置在有机玻璃柱中的松散土（饼）的干燥开裂和自愈的传播（DW) 路径。结果表明，在干燥过程中，由于与柱底摩擦而在土壤底部产生裂缝，然后扩展到饼的顶面。随着干燥时间的增加，顶部表面的蒸发导致比饼底部更多的裂缝从表面生长。然而，底部的裂缝趋于稳定，因为含水量大于顶部表面。裂纹的萌生、扩展和扩展是在饼块饱和状态下发展起来的。在润湿路径中，一些裂缝被关闭，而另一些裂缝出现。裂缝随着润湿时间逐渐闭合，自愈现象突出，可能是由于饼土的高塑性指数。结果表明，滤饼膨胀主要与由于颗粒之间吸力减小而导致的空隙率增加有关。结果证明了 X 射线 CT 技术在研究 D 过程中裂纹演变的能力W路径。