Abstract：To investigate the crack evolution process—from initiation to propagation and stabilization—in soils with varying organic matter contents at the slopes of open-pit coal mine dump sites, and to assess the influence of organic matter content on soil water stability, this study focuses on the Yimin Open-Pit Coal Mine in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Considering the effects of drying-wetting and drying-wetting-freezing-thawing cycles, laboratory tests were conducted on soil samples with different organic matter contents. These tests included drying tests, drying-wetting cycles, drying-wetting-freezing-thawing cycles, and disintegration tests. Using image digital processing software (PCAS), we analyzed the crack initiation and development patterns of soil samples under various testing conditions, as well as the impact of organic matter content on water stability. The experimental results indicate that during the drying process, soil samples with higher organic matter content exhibit faster moisture evaporation rates under the same drying duration. As organic matter content increases, the total crack area, total crack length, and average crack width of the soil surface all show an upward trend, with the cracks developing in a more oriented manner. Following drying-wetting cycles, organic matter has an inhibitory effect on soil desiccation cracking, and after four cycles, the crack morphology tends to stabilize. For soil samples subjected to drying-wetting-freezing-thawing cycles, both the organic matter content and the number of cycles promote crack development. As organic matter content and the number of cycles increase, the total crack area, total crack length, and average crack width also increase correspondingly, with the crack morphology of the soil surface becoming essentially stable after three to four drying-wetting-freezing-thawing cycles.
褚 峰1*，罗 旭1，张宏刚2，杨 涛1，王雪艳1，李 者1. 不同路径下有机质对露天煤矿排土场边坡土体干缩开裂演化特征影响研究[J]. 岩石力学与工程学报, 2026, 45(5): 1554-1570.
CHU Feng1*, LUO Xu1, ZHANG Honggang2, YANG Tao1, WANG Xueyan1, LI Zhe1. Effect of organic matter on the evolution behavior of desiccation cracks in dump slope soils of open-pit coal mines. , 2026, 45(5): 1554-1570.
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2026, Vol. 45 
