Effect of water on granular matter mechanics, macroscopic scale: Collapse of granular media during wetting

In soil mechanics, it is well known that the behaviour of the granular soils, as the sand, in the dry state is similar to the saturated state. Between these two extremes states exist various domains of water content often named: hygroscopic, pendular and funicular. In the funicular domain, the partially saturated soils can undergo a collapse due to the only variations of water content.