A Theoretical‐Empirical Model to Predict the Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Sand. Issue 1 (17th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huang, Zhe; Xu, Haijue; Bai, Yuchuan; Yang, Shuqing
• Is Part Of: Soil Science Society of America Journal. Volume 83:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 77
• Publication Date: 2019-01-17
• Subjects: Soils -- United States -- Periodicals; Soil science -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 631.4973
• DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2017.09.0322
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0361-5995

Abstract

Abstract : Core Ideas: The existing theoretical model of the Hagen–Poiseuille law was modified to estimate the hydraulic conductivity based on the flow resistance of a sphere. In the model, the capillary diameter calculated from the porosity and the soil particle size is recommended for the average pore diameter. The predictive results were analyzed with soil parameters and other factors. The hydraulic conductivity of soil is an important parameter that is required for seepage calculations. Currently, many methods are available to predict this parameter, but the accuracy of the theoretical method is not adequate. In this paper, the existing theoretical model of the Hagen–Poiseuille law was modified based on the flow resistance of a sphere to estimate hydraulic conductivity. In the model, the capillary diameter calculated from the soil porosity and gradation is recommended for use as the average pore diameter. In a comparison with the experimental results, the modified formula showed a higher level of accuracy than the traditional model and other empirical methods. The model considers the grain size distribution, which is determined to be more reasonable than other models. We also show that the model may be invalid for nonuniform soil and that the results are very sensitive to changes in particle size and porosity. The model can be used to predict the hydraulic conductivity at any temperature and may give results that are different from experimental data because of the experimental boundary and the effect of the experimental process. The container's boundary, unsaturated soil, and the internal instability of the soil during the test may all lead to differences between experimental results and the predicted values.