Investigation of Suffusion in Soil with Arching Based on CFD–DEM Simulation
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 3
Abstract
The nonuniform stress distribution caused by soil arching can affect suffusion in soil under seepage. To investigate the development of suffusion in soil with arching and the evolution of soil arching during suffusion, coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete-element method (DEM) simulation of trapdoor tests under horizontal seepage flow was performed. A soil sample susceptible to suffusion was prepared by mixing particles in two sizes with a size ratio of 5.0. Soil arching consisting of stress reduction and concentration areas was formed by lowering the trapdoor at the bottom of the model and then a horizontal seepage flow was introduced to trigger soil suffusion. It was discovered that, due to the existence of soil arching, the fine particles within the stress reduction area were more prone to migrate, while the fine particles within the stress concentration areas were hindered by strong force chains. Soil arching degrading with the suffusion process was characterized as the decrease of critical soil arching height and soil arching ratio, the breakage of horizontal force chains, and the reconnection of vertical force chains. The degradation of soil arching during suffusion led to additional surface settlement during the postsuffusion stage.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51978611), the Natural Science Foundation for Outstanding Scholar in Zhejiang Province (Grant No. LR21E080004), and the ZJU-ZCCC Institute of Collaborative Innovation (No. ZDJG2021011).
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 3 • March 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 4, 2023
Accepted: Sep 25, 2023
Published online: Jan 12, 2024
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 12, 2024
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