Estimation of wetting hydraulic conductivity function for unsaturated sandy soil
Zhai Q. Rahardjo H. Satyanaga A. Zhu Y. Dai G. Zhao X.
May 2021Elsevier B.V.
Engineering Geology
2021#285
The occurrence of rainfall-induced slope failures is mainly due to the infiltrated rainwater which reduces the shear strength of soil. The slope is initially observed in an unsaturated condition and it becomes wetted during rainfall. In other words, the infiltration of rainwater into the soil slope is a wetting process. As a result, the amount of the infiltrated rainwater is mainly governed by the hydraulic conductivity of the unsaturated soil under the wetting process. Direct measurement of the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil under the wetting process is time-consuming and costly. On the other hand, there are various available methods or models for the estimation of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soil under the drying process. In this paper, the methodology for the estimation of hydraulic conductivity function (HCF) of unsaturated soil under the wetting process based on the drying soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is proposed. The proposed method is based on the concept of the pore size distribution function. Both “ink-bottle” and “rain-drop” effects on the hysteresis of SWCC are incorporated in the estimation of the HCF of unsaturated soil under the wetting process. The estimated results were verified with the experimental data from published literature.
Hydraulic conductivity , Hysteresis , Soil-water characteristic curve , Wetting process
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Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1, Nanyang Ave., Singapore, 639798, Singapore
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Kabanbay Batyr Ave., 53, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
Key Laboratory of Concrete and Prestressed Concrete Structures of Ministry of Education
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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