 Expansive soils are prone to shrinking and cracking when they dry out, which can lead to weakness and poor permeability in water conservation projects and geotechnical engineering, such as foundations and channel walls. This can cause structural issues and lead to failure if not addressed properly. To address these issues, researchers used a particle image velocimetry, PIV, system to monitor the behavior of expansive soil during the drying process. They found that the peak load increased with decreased moisture content and that the remolded soil specimen had higher loads than the undisturbed specimen. Additionally, the PIV system allowed them to observe the compression deformation stage, crack development stage after the peak value, crack maturity stage and failure stage. These findings provide a scientific basis for the design and construction of geotechnical engineering related to expansive soil. This article was authored by Shen Yu, Feng Chen He and Jun Ran Zhang. We are article.tv. Links in the description below.