Abstract Soil matric potential and osmotic are widely accepted as two independent components of total soil water potential. However, laboratory observations repeatedly demonstrated that can vary with salt concentration, implying a coupling between To date, it remains elusive whether or not why so, theoretical theory for quantifying the them is still missing. Herein, model developed to quantitatively explain this problem via lens provided by recent concept sorptive (SSP). The proposed...

Abstract In the mid‐20th century, harnessing of thermodynamics in describing water movement soil, viz concept potential, marks emergence modern soil physics, unsaturated mechanics, and vadose zone hydrology. Yet to date, a seamless linkage between potential is still missing, leading several long‐lasting dilemmas regarding properties, for example, abnormal density, peculiar film viscosity relative permittivity, pore pressure, freezing temperature depression. Here, thermodynamic framework...

Salt-affected soils, including saline and alkali cover about 7% of the land area on earth. Their interaction with water differs from non-saline thereby exhibiting distinct fundamental properties mechanical hydrological behaviors. The soil-water is generally assessed by vapor sorption isotherm, i.e., relationship between soil content ambient relative humidity under isotherm conditions. Yet to date, there still lacks a comprehensive dataset isotherms salt-affected soils. This study presents...

A novel mechanism that underlies the peculiar cascading freezing of multiple supercooled droplets on surfaces is reported. The initial ice crystal growth in large communicated via connected water nanofilms to smaller droplets. Using high-speed imaging, we show presence a nanofilm with thickness higher than critical value around 4.5 nm facilitates front propagation from one droplet its neighbors hydrophilic surface. rate through approximately 40% recalescence within droplet, both which are...

A soil's hydraulic conductivity is a highly nonlinear function of water content, decreasing many orders magnitude from its saturated state to dry state. This nonlinearity macroscopic manifestation microscopic soil properties pore structure, connectivity, and mineral–water interaction. These are underpinned by two distinct soil–water interaction mechanisms: adsorption capillarity. Herein, equation was developed incorporating capillary flow adsorptive film flow. The captured via model bundle...

Soil water sorption isotherm is governed by soil–water interactions of adsorption and capillarity, depending on particle surface properties pore size distribution, respectively. Recent studies have separated soil surfaces into two categories in terms distinct behaviors, i.e., external internal surfaces, identifying three independent processes with varying energy levels, namely adsorption, capillarity. Here, an model developed to describe soils the full relative humidity ( RH) range...

Adsorption and capillarity, in the order of high free energy to low, are two soil–water interaction mechanisms controlling hydro-mechanical behaviour soils. Yet most poroelasticity theories soil based on capillarity only, leading misrepresentations low regime beyond vaporisation. This inability is reasoned be caused by major limitations existing theories: missing interparticle attraction incomplete definition adsorption-induced pore-water pressure. A theory formulated incorporate mechanisms,...

A soil's elastic modulus is a fundamental property defining the reversible stress-strain relation under mechanical and environmental loadings. It has been observed that can increase up to several orders of magnitude from fully saturated dry conditions due two distinct soil water retention mechanisms: adsorption capillarity. Adsorption affects interparticle stress through van der Waals electrostatic attraction friction coefficient film retained by sorptive potential. Capillarity governs...

Water ubiquitously exists with dissolved salt in both natural and engineered porous media, such as soil, rock, concrete, tissue; therefore, its freezing temperature depression behavior is of particular interest to various scientific communities tackling mechanics physics media. To date, it remains elusive which physical mechanism accounts for how ions affect it. Herein, a series pore-scale experiments were designated investigate the solutions tubes varying pore diameters, solution volumes,...