Infiltration Tests on Fractured Compacted Clay
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 123, Issue 5
Abstract
Desiccation and freeze-thaw of compacted clay barriers may result in cracks that serve as preferential flow paths. A series of infiltration tests on compacted kaolin samples was conducted to explore the importance of preferential flow paths during infiltration, and their effect on the infiltration rate. Clod size at the time of compaction was found to have a strong influence on both the rate and depth of infiltration. We suggest that flow and infiltration through fractured clay may be described in terms of two stages: an initial dynamic stage in which the infiltration rate is initially high but decreases rapidly due to the clay swelling and closing fractures, and a steady-state stage usually characterized by ksat, during which the infiltration rate is relatively constant. Our study has shown that cracks do not fully heal upon hydration and readily reopen during subsequent dehydration. Infiltration rates during the dynamic stage of infiltration, while cracks are closing, are orders of magnitude higher than the steady-state rate used to estimate ksat, for barrier evaluation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Amoozegar, A., and Wilson, G. V. (1996). “Methods for measuring hydraulic conductivity and drainable porosity.”American Society of Agronomy (ASA) special monograph on agricultural drainage, W. Skaggs, ed., ASA, Inc., Madison, Wis.
2.
Benson, C. H., and Daniel, D. E.(1990). “Influence of clods on hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay.”J. Geotech. Engrg., ASCE, 116(8), 1231–1248.
3.
Beven, K., and Germann, P. (1982). “Macropores and water flow in soils.”Water Resour. Res. 18(5) 1311–1325.
4.
Bowders, J. J. Jr., and McClelland, S. (1994). “The effects of freeze/thaw cycles on the permeability of three compacted soils.”Hydraulic conductivity and waste containment transport in soil, ASTM STP 1142, D. E. Daniel and S. J. Trautwein, eds., American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia.
5.
Freeze, R. A., and Cherry, J. A. (1979). Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
6.
Kleppe, J. H., and Olson, R. E. (1985). “Desiccation cracking of soil barriers.”Hydraulic barriers in soil and rock, ASTM STP 874, A. I. Johnson, R. K. Frobel, N. J. Cavalli, and C. B. Pettersson, eds., American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 263–275.
7.
McBrayer, M. C. (1995). “Clay barriers: laboratory study of hydraulic defects and preferential flow paths,” MS thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
8.
Phifer, M. A. (1991). “Closure of a mixed waste landfill—lessons learned.”Proc., Symp. on Waste Magmt., Department of Energy, Washington D.C., 517–524.
9.
Phifer, M. A. (1993). “Clay barrier post compaction water content effects and particle orientation,” MS thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
10.
Phifer, M. A., Boles, D., Drumm, E., and Wilson, G. V. (1995). “Comparative response of two barrier soils to post compaction water content variations.”Proc., ASCE Spec. Conf. Geoenvironment 2000: Characterization, Containment, Remediation, and Performance in Envir. Geotechnics, ASCE, New York, 519–607.
11.
Sowers, G. F. (1979). Introductory soil mechanics and foundations: geotechnical engineering. MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., New York.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 123 • Issue 5 • May 1997
Pages: 469 - 473
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: May 1, 1997
Published in print: May 1997
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.