Leakage and Contaminant Transport through a Single Hole in the Geomembrane Component of a Composite Liner
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
The migration of contaminants through a 10-mm-diameter hole (0.785 cm2) in a geomembrane in direct contact with a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) and adjacent silty sand is examined. Experiments were conducted in four 0.6-m-diameter cells at a vertical stress of 100 kPa and hydraulic head differences of 0.3 and 1 m. The system was first permeated with distilled water until steady-state flow was attained (the reference case). After 280 days the permeant was changed to a NaCL solution. After 800 days of permeation with 0.14 M NaCl solution there was only a 3% increase in the flow (leakage) compared with the reference case despite up to almost an order of magnitude increase in GCL permeability near the hole. The wetted radius at the end of the experiments was inferred by injection of dye and was found to be about 0.1–0.15 m. This provides the first experimental evidence in support of theoretical predictions that, when the geomembrane is in direct contact with a GCL, leakage through a hole is primarily controlled by the interface transmissivity rather than the GCL hydraulic conductivity when there is interaction between the permeant and the GCL. The observed chloride distribution in the silty sand at the end of the experiments is reported.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for the research infrastructure and research was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT-MRI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Terrafix Geosynthetics, Inc. The authors gratefully acknowledge the value of the discussions with colleagues at the GeoEngineering Centre at Queen’s–RMC and industrial partners (Terrafix Geosynthetics, Inc.; Solmax International, Inc.; AMEC Earth and Environmental; AECOM; Golder Associates; and the CTT Group); however, the opinions stated herein are solely those of the authors.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 357 - 366
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 11, 2011
Accepted: May 14, 2012
Published online: May 17, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
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