Compacted clay liners are used in the basal and capping layers of landfills to separate the waste material from the environment. These liners are subjected to differential settlement through degradation of the waste or compression of the subgrade. This differential settlement induces cracking in the liner, and reduces the effectiveness of the clay as an environmental protection barrier. Physical model tests were conducted in the geotechnical centrifuge to study the influence of differential settlement on clay liners and observe the crack mechanism using a consolidated kaolin clay to model the clay liner. Differential settlement was imposed on the clay beam by means of a trapdoor. Cracking in the clay was monitored through digital analysis of images taken as the tests were conducted using particle image velocimetry. The test investigated the orientation and types of cracks formed with varying void dimensions and with and without overburden pressure. The unconfined clay over the small trapdoor was able to support itself across the void; a punching shear failure occurred in the case of a wider trapdoor or greater overburden pres sure
