Scale Effect on the Apparent Anisotropic Hydraulic Conductivity of Geomaterials
Publication: ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 9, Issue 3
Abstract
Properties of geomaterials often exhibit stratification and anisotropy due to various influencing factors such as weathering and sedimentation. However, the measurement of anisotropy is a difficult task since anisotropy not only depends on the direction but also varies with scale. In the current study, hydraulic conductivity is considered a typical geomaterial property and simulated by random field theory. A novel method based on two-dimensional and three-dimensional analytical expressions is proposed to estimate the apparent hydraulic conductivity () in different directions and determine the corresponding anisotropic ratios. A series of simulation tests on specimens with various dimensions from one strong anisotropy site are also performed via the finite element method. The analytical solutions of the proposed method are verified by numerical results. Results indicate that the anisotropic ratio shows a substantial sensitivity to the sample scale. A decrease in sample scale can result in the reduction of the anisotropic ratio; as a result, gradually approaches to a point level’s value, and the effect of anisotropy decreases. This work not only sheds light on the gap between the laboratory results and the field’s inherent properties but also provides guidelines on upscaling small-scale (e.g., laboratory scale) results to field-scale applications.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52079099), and the International Joint Research Platform Seed Fund Program of Wuhan University (Grant No. WHUZZJJ202207). Guan Chen would like to thank the financial support of the Sino-German (CSC-DAAD) Postdoc Scholarship Program.
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Published In
ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering
Volume 9 • Issue 3 • September 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 12, 2023
Accepted: Apr 4, 2023
Published online: Jun 5, 2023
Published in print: Sep 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 5, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Anisotropy
- Continuum mechanics
- Deformation (mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Field tests
- Finite element method
- Geomaterials
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydraulic conductivity
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic properties
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic properties
- Hydrology
- Measurement (by type)
- Methodology (by type)
- Numerical methods
- Scale effect
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Solid mechanics
- Structural mechanics
- Tests (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water stratification
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