Numerical Simulation of Geosynthetic Clay Liner Desiccation under High Thermal Gradients and Low Overburden Stress
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 19, Issue 7
Abstract
A multiphase, thermohydro-mechanical model of unsaturated soils is presented to assess the risk of desiccation of a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) in a composite lining system (i.e., a high-density polyethylene geomembrane over a geosynthetic clay liner) under conditions encountered in brine or solar ponds, where temperatures can reach up to 95°C and the geosynthetic clay liner is subject to low effective stress. The model considers void ratio and temperature-dependent soil–water characteristic curves (SWCCs) for needle-punched GCLs. The model was validated against results from experimental column studies.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded by Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant DP130100203. We are grateful to Antonio Gens, Hywel Thomas, Dr. Alfonso Rodríguez Dono, and Dr. Majid Sedighi for their generous advice. This research was undertaken on the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) National Facility in Canberra, Australia, which is supported by the Australian Commonwealth Government. We especially thank Dr. Rika Kobayashi, Australian National University Supercomputer Facility, and Dr. Joachim Mai high-performance computing (HPC) Support Specialist, Intersect.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 19 • Issue 7 • July 2019
Copyright
© 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 14, 2018
Accepted: Dec 6, 2018
Published online: Apr 25, 2019
Published in print: Jul 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Sep 25, 2019
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