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Fig. 2. Scheme of the different shrinkage curves of an aggregated clay soil based on Hallaire's (1984) Fig. 2. (1) Initial specific volume of shrinking and cracking soil layer. (2) Shrinkage curve
l
of shrinking soil layer with cracks; (3) shrinkage curve
s
of shrinking soil sample with cracks. (4) Shrinkage curve 
of soil matrix; in general,
z <
sz, that is, oven-dried sample contains cracks. (5) 1:1 theoretical line. AB, the specific volume of the layer subsidence at a given w; BD, the specific volume of cracks in the soil layer at a given w; CD, the specific volume of cracks in the soil sample with free boundaries at a given w.