Evaporation Theory for Deformable Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 129, Issue 11
Abstract
Desiccation of a deformable soil is basically the removal of water by evaporation, which is controlled by evaporativity and evaporability. Surface evaporation improves the trafficability, which is essential for the access of construction equipment in areas reclaimed with soft clay. The existing traditional methods for evaluating evaporation cannot account for the deformation of soils during evaporation. Therefore, a theoretical model for predicting the rate of evaporation from the surface of a deformable material is proposed. The model is based on a system of equations for coupled heat and mass transfer in unsaturated soils. The modified pressure plate extractor test and glass desiccator test were carried out to obtain the soil-water characteristic curve for a deformable soil. A column-drying test was conducted to investigate one-dimensional water flow, heat flow, and evaporation in the surface. A finite difference program was developed to solve the coupled nonlinear partial differential equations, which permits the study of liquid, diffusive vapor, and heat flows in the deformable soil. Comparison between measured and simulated values shows good agreement.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 129 • Issue 11 • November 2003
Pages: 1020 - 1027
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 18, 2002
Accepted: Dec 17, 2002
Published online: Oct 15, 2003
Published in print: Nov 2003
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