Simulating Progression of Internal Erosion in Gap-Graded Sandy Gravels Using Coupled CFD-DEM
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 1
Abstract
Loss of fine particles or suffusion in soils induced by seepage is an important problem that may cause dam or dike failures. This paper aims to study the evolution mechanisms of suffusion in gap-graded sandy gravels using coupled computational fluid dynamics and discrete-element method (CFD-DEM). In the simulation, five groups of sandy gravel including four groups of gap-graded sandy gravel and a benchmark linearly graded sandy gravel were studied. Changes in flow rate, evolution of porosity in different layers, and spatial and temporal redistributions of particles in the samples during suffusion under upward seepage were studied. Simulation results show that when the fine particle content is the same, the total fine erosion ratio is larger when the stability index of the gap-graded sandy gravel is lower. The porosities of five layers of the gap-graded sandy gravel change continuously with infiltration time. A slight decrease in the fine grain content appears in the upper layers, while a sharp reduction in the fine grain content occurs in the bottom layer. The study provides a mechanics basis for the prediction and prevention of suffusion in gap-graded sandy gravels.
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Acknowledgments
This research was substantially supported by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Nos. C6012-15G and 16205118) and the Chinese National Science and Technology Support Program (No. 2014BAL05B01).
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20 • Issue 1 • January 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 2, 2018
Accepted: Apr 29, 2019
Published online: Oct 18, 2019
Published in print: Jan 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Mar 18, 2020
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