Estimation of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils under entire suction range

ZHAI Qian; ZHU Yi-yao; YE Wei-min; DU Yan-jun; DAI Guo-liang; ZHAO Xue-liang

doi:10.11779/CJGE202204008

Volume 44 Issue 4

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Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering > 2022 > 44(4): 660-668. > DOI: 10.11779/CJGE202204008

ZHAI Qian, ZHU Yi-yao, YE Wei-min, DU Yan-jun, DAI Guo-liang, ZHAO Xue-liang. Estimation of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils under entire suction range[J]. Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 2022, 44(4): 660-668. DOI: 10.11779/CJGE202204008

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Estimation of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils under entire suction range

ZHAI Qian^{1, 2,},
ZHU Yi-yao^{1, 2},
YE Wei-min³,
DU Yan-jun⁴,
DAI Guo-liang^{1, 2},
ZHAO Xue-liang^{1, 2}

1.
Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structure of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Bridge Engineering Research Center of Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
2.
School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
3.
School of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
4.
Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

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Received Date: July 04, 2021
Available Online: September 22, 2022

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Abstract

Abstract

The hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils controls their water flow. Most numerical softwares adopt the hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) as the input parameter to simulate the water flow in unsaturated soils. The accuracy of the inputted HCF has significant effect on the reliability of the simulated results from the seepage analysis. It is noted that most HCFs are proposed based on the theory of capillary flow. It is observed that in the high suction range, the estimated HCF of unsaturated soils from the capillary flow is much lower than what is obtained from the experimental measurement. In this study, the water flows in unsaturated soils are categorized into three forms, including (i) capillary flow, (ii) film flow and (iii) vapour flow. The mathematical models for the HCF of soils corresponding to those three forms of water flow are proposed. Consequently, the total HCF of unsaturated soils under the entire suction range is proposed.
- pore-size distribution,
- hydraulic conductivity function,
- capillary flow,
- film flow,
- vapour flow

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Estimation of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils under entire suction range

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