Potential applications of rheological studies in determining soil structural-mechanical properties

   This study presents investigations into the rheological properties of model soil samples at various moisture contents. The aim was to determine the feasibility of enhancing the accuracy of rheological flow equation determination by employing a software product with an integrated mathematical apparatus for processing experimental data and flow curves. Rheology, the science of flow and deformation of materials, is concerned with the study of structural-mechanical properties during the deformation process. Investigating the rheological properties of soil will allow for tracing the nature of inter-particle interactions within the soil and, furthermore, for determining its structural-mechanical properties, such as viscosity, elasticity, plasticity, ultimate shear stress, and others. The obtained results indicate that all model soil samples can be classified as structural-viscous systems, for which the Ostwald-de Waele rheological equation is applicable for describing their deformation behavior. By utilizing a software product to process experimental data obtained by rotational viscometry, it is possible to derive the values of the coefficients within the rheological equation, which accurately describe the deformation behavior of the investigated samples.

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