Desiccation cracking has a significant impact on the hydro-mechanical properties of soils, yet quantifying crack patterns remains challenging. This study presents a quantitative framework with a total of 26 parameters for characterizing the geometric and morphological characteristics of soil desiccation crack patterns, including soil clod parameters (soil clod area, soil clod perimeter, number of clods, and the probability density distribution of clod parameters, etc.) and crack network parameters (crack length, crack width, crack intersection angle, number of crack segments, surface crack ratio, crack density, connectivity index, etc.). To implement this quantitative framework, the Crack Image Analysis System (CIAS) was developed to automatically identify and analyse complex crack patterns through image preprocessing, clod identification, crack network identification and batch processing. CIAS was then applied to quantify the crack images of soil with different thicknesses, validating its efficacy. To comprehensively describe the geometric and morphological characteristics of crack networks, it is recommended to use the number of soil clods per unit area, surface crack ratio, crack density, and connectivity index as key parameters. These metrics effectively capture information on crack spacing, area, length, width, and connectivity. This comprehensive framework for characterizing and quantifying crack images is of great significant for geological engineering. Moreover, it holds great potential for application in other different disciplines such as geotechnical, hydraulic, mineral engineering and material even planetary science.

中文翻译：

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表征和量化土壤干燥裂缝模式的综合框架：定量参数和 CIAS 的发展


干燥开裂对土壤的水力学性能有重大影响，但量化裂缝模式仍然具有挑战性。本研究提出了一个定量框架，共有 26 个参数用于表征土壤干燥裂缝模式的几何和形态特征，包括土块参数（土块面积、土块周长、土块数量、土块参数的概率密度分布等）和裂缝网络参数（裂缝长度、裂缝宽度、裂缝交会角度、 裂纹段数、表面裂纹率、裂纹密度、连通指数等）。为了实现这个定量框架，我们开发了裂缝图像分析系统 （CIAS），通过图像预处理、土块识别、裂缝网络识别和批处理来自动识别和分析复杂的裂缝模式。然后应用 CIAS 量化不同厚度土壤的裂缝图像，验证其有效性。为了全面描述裂缝网络的几何和形态特征，建议使用单位面积土块数、表面裂缝比、裂缝密度和连通指数作为关键参数。这些指标有效地捕获了有关裂缝间距、面积、长度、宽度和连通性的信息。这个用于表征和量化裂纹图像的综合框架对于地质工程具有重要意义。此外，它还具有在其他不同学科中的巨大应用潜力，例如岩土工程、水力学、矿物工程和材料甚至行星科学。