Development of a Modeling Method and Parametric Study of Seepage-Induced Erosion in Clayey Gravel
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 12
Abstract
The aim of this study is to develop a method to simulate the behaviors of clayey gravel during water erosion by using computational fluid dynamics–discrete element method. The fluid phase was solved using the “fixed coarse-grid” scheme based on Navier–Stokes equations, and the solid phase was described by an assemblage of discontinuous particles in the Particle Flow Code in three dimensions (PFC3D) modeling framework. A fictitious clay method was introduced, in which the suffosion of clay matrix was translated to the strength degradation of bond according to a degradation law. The degradation law was embedded into PFC3D by the development of additional code in the Python language. The method was first validated by comparing with experimental results. Then, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of three different factors, particle-size distribution (PSD), soil porosity, and pressure gradient, on the erosion behavior of soil. Results show that the proposed model offers a promising method to predict the erosion behavior of clay soil at the particle level. The numerical results generally match the empirical criteria, for example, it demonstrates that the initiation of the erosion process is significantly influenced by material properties (PSD, porosity) and loading condition (hydraulic gradient), and also reveals clearly defined critical levels for the three parameters, below which through-piping cannot be expected.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41902270, 41972297), Chongqing Postdoctoral Science Foundation (cstc2019jcyj-bshX0032) and Open foundation of State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironmental Protection (SKLGP2020K025).
References
Abdelhamid, Y., and U. El Shamy. 2016. “Pore-scale modeling of fine-particle migration in granular filters.” Int. J. Geomech. 16 (3): 04015086. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000592.
Anderson, T. B., and R. Jackson. 1967. “A fluid mechanical description of fluidized beds. Equations of motion.” Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam. 6 (4): 527–539. https://doi.org/10.1021/i160024a007.
Benaissa, K., P. V. M. Angel, R. C. M. Dlolores, D. Philippe, K. Abdellatif, B. Mohammed, and E. B. Larbi. 2012. “Predicting initial erosion during the hole erosion test by using turbulent flow CFD simulation.” Appl. Math. Modell. 36 (8): 3359–3370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2011.04.036.
Bendahmane, F., D. Marot, and A. Alexis. 2008. “Experimental parametric study of suffusion and backward erosion.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 134 (1): 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:1(57).
Benmebarek, N., S. Benmebarek, and R. Kastner. 2005. “Numerical studies of seepage failure of sand within a cofferdam.” Comput. Geotech. 32 (4): 264–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2005.03.001.
Bouddour, A., J. L. Auriault, and M. Mhamdi-Alaoui. 1996. “Erosion and deposition of solid particles in porous media: Homogenization analysis of a formation damage.” Transp. Porous Media 25 (2): 121–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00135852.
Climent, N., M. Arroyo, C. O’Sullivan, and A. Gens. 2014. “Sand production simulation coupling DEM with CFD.” Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng. 18 (9): 983–1008. https://doi.org/10.1080/19648189.2014.920280.
Cui, Y., D. Chan, and A. Nouri. 2017. “Discontinuum modeling of solid deformation pore-water diffusion coupling.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (8): 04017033. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000903.
Elkholy, M., Y. A. Sharif, M. H. Chaudhry, and J. Imran. 2015. “Effect of soil composition on piping erosion of earthen levees.” J. Hydraulic Res. 53 (4): 478–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2015.1026951.
Felice, R. D. 1994. “The voidage function for fluid-particle interaction systems.” Int. J. Multiphase Flow 20 (1): 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-9322(94)90011-6.
Fleshman, M. S., and J. D. Rice. 2013. “Constant gradient piping test apparatus for evaluation of critical hydraulic conditions for the initiation of piping.” Geotech. Test. J. 36 (6): 20130066. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20130066.
Foster, M., R. Fell, and M. Spannagle. 2000. “The statistics of embankment dam failures and accidents.” Can. Geotech. J. 37 (5): 1000–1024. https://doi.org/10.1139/t00-030.
Guo, Y., Y. Yang, and X. B. Yu. 2018. “Influence of particle shape on the erodibility of non-cohesive soil: Insights from coupled CFD–DEM simulations.” Particuology 39: 12–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2017.11.007.
Hansen, D., and A. Roshanfekr. 2012. “Assessment of potential for seepage-induced unraveling failure of flow-through rockfill dams.” Int. J. Geomech. 12 (5): 560–573. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000145.
Huang, Q. F., M. L. Zhan, J. C. Sheng, Y. L. Luo, and B. Y. Su. 2014. “Investigation of fluid flow-induced particle migration in granular filters using a DEM-CFD method.” J. Hydrodyn. 26 (3): 406–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(14)60046-9.
Itasca. 2014. PFC 3d particle flow code in 3 dimensions. PFC 5.0 Documentation. Minneapolis: Itasca.
Jiang, N. J., K. Soga, and M. Kuo. 2017. “Microbially induced carbonate precipitation for seepage-induced internal erosion control in sand–clay mixtures.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (3): 04016100. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001559.
Kafui, K. D., C. Thornton, and M. J. Adams. 2002. “Discrete particle-continuum fluid modelling of gas–solid fluidised beds.” Chem. Eng. Sci. 57 (13): 2395–2410. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00140-9.
Lade, P. V., and J. A. Yamamuro. 1997. “Effects of nonplastic fines on static liquefaction of sands.” Can. Geotech. J. 34 (6): 918–928. https://doi.org/10.1139/t97-052.
Li, L., E. Papamichos, and P. Cerasi. 2006. “Investigation of sand production mechanisms using DEM with fluid flow.” In Eurock 2006: Multiphysics coupling and long term behaviour in rock mechanics, edited by A. van Cotthem, R. Charlier, J.-F. Thimus, and J.-P. Tshibangu, 241–247. London: CRC Press.
Marot, D., F. Bendahmane, F. Rosquoët, and A. Alexis. 2009. “Internal flow effects on isotropic confined sand-clay mixtures.” Soil Sediment Contam. 18 (3): 294–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320380902799524.
Minh, N. H., and Y. P. Cheng. 2013. “A DEM investigation of the effect of particle-size distribution on one-dimensional compression.” Géotechnique 63 (1): 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.10.P.058.
Onate, E., S. R. Idelsohn, M. A. Celigueta, and R. Rossi. 2008. “Advances in the particle finite element method for the analysis of fluid–multibody interaction and bed erosion in free surface flows.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 197 (19–20): 1777–1800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2007.06.005.
Reddi, L. N., I. Lee, and M. V. S. Bonala. 2000. “Comparison of internal and surface erosion using flow pump tests on a sand-kaolinite mixture.” Geotech. Test. J. 23 (1): 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ11129J.
Richards, K. S., and K. R. Reddy. 2007. “Critical appraisal of piping phenomena in earth dams.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 66 (4): 381–402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-007-0095-0.
Sharif, Y. A., M. Elkholy, M. Hanif Chaudhry, and J. Imran. 2015. “Experimental study on the piping erosion process in earthen embankments.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 141 (7): 04015012. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001019.
Stavropoulou, M., P. Papanastasiou, and I. Vardoulakis. 1998. “Coupled wellbore erosion and stability analysis.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 22 (9): 749–769. https://doi.org/<749::AID-NAG944>3.0.CO;2-K.
Tao, J., and H. Tao. 2017. “Factors affecting piping erosion resistance: Revisited with a numerical modeling approach.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (11): 04017097. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000999.
Trani, L. D. O., and B. Indraratna. 2010. “The use of particle size distribution by surface area method in predicting the saturated hydraulic conductivity of graded granular soils.” Géotechnique 60 (12): 957–962. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.9.T.014.
Tsuji, Y., T. Kawaguchi, and T. Tanata. 1993. “Discrete particle simulation of two-dimensional fluidized bed.” Powder Technol. 77 (1): 79–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-5910(93)85010-7.
Turcotte, D. L. 1986. “Fractals and fragmentation.” J. Geophys. Res. 91 (B2): 1921–1926. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB091iB02p01921.
Tyler, S. W., and S. W. Wheatcraft. 1992. “Fractal scaling of soil particle-size distributions: Analysis and limitations.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56 (2): 362–369. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1992.03615995005600020005x.
Utley, B. C., and T. M. Wynn. 2008. “Cohesive soil erosion: Theory and practice.” In World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, 1–10. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Wan, C. F., and R. Fell. 2004. “Investigation of rate of erosion of soils in embankment dams.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 130 (4): 373–380. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2004)130:4(373).
Wang, M., Y. T. Feng, G. N. Pande, A. H. C. Chan, and W. X. Zuo. 2017. “Numerical modelling of fluid-induced soil erosion in granular filters using a coupled bonded particle lattice Boltzmann method.” Comput. Geotech. 82: 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2016.10.006.
Wang, Y., L. Zhou, and Q. Yang. 2019. “Hydro-mechanical analysis of calcareous sand with a new shape-dependent fluid-particle drag model integrated into CFD-DEM coupling program.” Powder Technol. 344: 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2018.12.008.
Wen, C., and Y. H. Yu. 1966. “Mechanics of fluidization.” Chem. Eng. Prog. Symp. Ser. 62: 100–111.
Wood, D. M., K. Maeda, and E. Nukudani. 2010. “Modelling mechanical consequences of erosion.” Géotechnique 60 (6): 447–457. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2010.60.6.447.
Yerro, A., R. Alexander, and S. Kenichi. 2017. “Modelling internal erosion with the material point method.” Procedia Eng. 175: 365–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.01.048.
Young, I. M., and J. W. Crawford. 1991. “The fractal structure of soil aggregates: Its measurement and interpretation.” J. Soil Sci. 42 (2): 187–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.1991.tb00400.x.
Zhang, F., B. Damjanac, and H. Huang. 2013. “Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media.” J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 118 (6): 2703–2722. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrb.50204.
Zhao, T., F. Dai, and N. Xu. 2017. “Coupled DEM-CFD investigation on the formation of landslide dams in narrow rivers.” Landslides 14 (1): 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0675-1.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20 • Issue 12 • December 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 12, 2019
Accepted: Jul 20, 2020
Published online: Sep 17, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Feb 17, 2021
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.