A Soil–Water Retention Model Incorporating Pore-Fluid Osmotic Potential
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 11
Abstract
The water retention characteristics of geomaterials directly influence the hydrological processes for the subsurface flow regime and surface runoff. Despite its utmost importance, most of the soil–water retention models were simply developed based on the retention data of pure water. However, natural processes, such as acidic rainfall or dissolved ions in the pore fluid and the undeniable role of industrialized pollution, result in a certain impurity in the pore water, which is reflected as an osmotic suction component. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to introduce a novel soil–water retention model that considers the role of osmotic potential. The proposed model is developed from a previous model by embedding two new parameters that have clear physical meanings. The parameters are the pore fluid salinity index (PSI) and the modified effective stress that account for the influence of the osmotic potential on the desorption rate and air entry suction, respectively. The model is benchmarked and validated against four experimental data sets that have been rigorously measured and reported by various research groups. The results reveal the robustness of the model when capturing the retention behavior of soils that are exposed to different salt concentrations and species for the matric and total suctions.
Practical Applications
The soil water retention curve (SWRC) is one of the main hydraulic features of unsaturated soils, which has been extensively used when simulating the transient multiphase flow, soil deformation, and shear strength characteristics. Due to its essence and application when solving a wide range of geoenvironmental problems, numerous models have been developed to date. However, the majority of the existing models rely on the simplifying assumption that pure water is the pore fluid, which is contradictory to the nature of several natural and human-induced phenomena, such as acidic rainfall and contamination. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to introduce a new solute-dependent fluid retention model. Then, the modeling framework was validated against comprehensive fluid retention data sets from several research groups. The new framework proved robust when predicting fluid retention as a function of the solute concentration in a simplified yet precise manner. The proposed model, which is an extended form of a previous model, is easy to implement and requires two additional parameters. In conclusion, the new model has the potential to be implemented in numerical codes, constitutive models, and analytical solutions to analyze and design certain geoenvironmental problems in the presence of contamination.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that supports the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Iran’s National Elites Foundation for supporting this research through the Dr. Kazemi-Ashtiani Award. In addition, the financial support provided by the Iran National Science Foundation by way of grant 4000730 is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Anbarestani, M., Sadeghi, H., and Golaghaei Darzi, A. 2023. “Numerical investigation of saturated-unsaturated flow and stability analysis of tailings dams considering the influence of saline solutions.” In Vol. 382 of Proc., 8th Int. Conf., on Unsaturated Soils. Les Ulis, France: EDP Sciences.
Antinoro, C., E. Arnone, and L. V. Noto. 2017. “The use of soil water retention curve models in analyzing slope stability in differently structured soils.” Catena 150: 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.11.019.
Arya, L. M., and J. F. Paris. 1981. “A physicoempirical model to predict the soil moisture characteristic from particle-size distribution and bulk density data.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45 (6): 1023–1030. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1981.03615995004500060004x.
Assouline, S., and D. Or. 2013. “Conceptual and parametric representation of soil hydraulic properties: A review.” Vadose Zone J. 12 (4): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2013.07.0121.
Bazargan, A., H. Sadeghi, R. Garcia-Mayoral, and G. McKay. 2015. “An unsteady state retention model for fluid desorption from sorbents.” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 450: 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2015.02.036.
Brooks, R., and A. Corey. 1964. Hydraulic properties of porous media: Hydrology papers. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State Univ.
Casini, F., J. Vaunat, E. Romero, and A. Desideri. 2012. “Consequences on water retention properties of double-porosity features in a compacted silt.” Acta Geotech. 7: 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-012-0159-6.
Chen, Y. G., X. X. Dong, X. D. Zhang, W. M. Ye, and Y. J. Cui. 2018. “Combined thermal and saline effects on the swelling pressure of densely compacted GMZ bentonite.” Appl. Clay Sci. 166: 318–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2018.10.001.
Chen, Y. G., X. X. Dong, X. D. Zhang, W. M. Ye, and Y. J. Cui. 2019. “Cyclic thermal and saline effects on the swelling pressure of densely compacted Gaomiaozi bentonite.” Eng. Geol. 255: 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.04.016.
Costa, M. B. A. D., and A. L. B. Cavalcante. 2020. “Novel approach to determine soil–water retention surface.” Int. J. Geomech. 20 (6): 04020054. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001684.
Della Vecchia, G., A. C. Dieudonné, C. Jommi, and R. Charlier. 2015. “Accounting for evolving pore size distribution in water retention models for compacted clays.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech. 39 (7): 702–723. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.2326.
Di Maio, C. 1996. “Exposure of bentonite to salt solution: Osmotic and mechanical effects.” Géotechnique 46 (4): 695–707. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1996.46.4.695.
Du, C. 2020. “A novel segmental model to describe the complete soil water retention curve from saturation to oven dryness.” J. Hydrol. 584: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124649.
Estabragh, A. R., A. Soltani, and A. A. Javadi. 2020. “Effect of pore water chemistry on the behaviour of a kaolin–bentonite mixture during drying and wetting cycles.” Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng. 24 (7): 895–914. https://doi.org/10.1080/19648189.2018.1428691.
Fredlund, D. G., and A. Xing. 1994. “Equations for the soil-water characteristic curve.” Can. Geotech. J. 31 (4): 521–532. https://doi.org/10.1139/t94-061.
Gallipoli, D., A. W. Bruno, F. D’onza, and C. Mancuso. 2015. “A bounding surface hysteretic water retention model for deformable soils.” Géotechnique 65 (10): 793–804. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.14.p.118.
Gallipoli, D., S. J. Wheeler, and M. Karstunen. 2003. “Modelling the variation of degree of saturation in a deformable unsaturated soil.” Géotechnique 53 (1): 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2003.53.1.105.
Garakani, A. A., M. M. Birgani, and H. Sadeghi. 2021. “An effective stress-based parametric study on the seismic stability of unsaturated slopes with implications for preliminary microzonation.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 80 (10): 7525–7549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02440-x.
Ghavam-Nasiri, A., A. El-Zein, D. Airey, and R. K. Rowe. 2019. “Water retention of geosynthetics clay liners: Dependence on void ratio and temperature.” Geotext. Geomembr. 47 (2): 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2018.12.014.
Glasstone, S. 1951. Textbook of physical chemistry. London: Macmillan.
He, Y., Y. G. Chen, W. M. Ye, B. Chen, and Y. J. Cui. 2016. “Influence of salt concentration on volume shrinkage and water retention characteristics of compacted GMZ bentonite.” Environ. Earth Sci. 75 (6): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5228-3.
He, Y., W. M. Ye, Y. G. Chen, K. N. Zhang, and D. Y. Wu. 2020. “Effects of NaCl solution on the swelling and shrinkage behavior of compacted bentonite under one-dimensional conditions.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 79 (1): 399–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-019-01568-1.
Hedayati-Azar, A., and H. Sadeghi. 2022. “Semi-empirical modelling of hydraulic conductivity of clayey soils exposed to deionized and saline environments.” J. Contam. Hydrol. 249: 104042. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCONHYD.2022.104042.
Kaveh, A., M. R. Seddighian, H. Sadeghi, and S. Sadat Naseri. 2020. “Optimal solution of Richards’equation for slope instability analysis using an integrated enhanced version of black hole mechanics into the fem.” Int. J. Optim. Civ. Eng. 10 (4): 629–650. http://ijoce.iust.ac.ir/article-1-456-en.html
Kolahdooz, A., H. Sadeghi, and M. M. Ahmadi. 2020. “A numerical study on the effect of salinity on stability of an unsaturated railway embankment under rainfall.” In Vol. 195 of Proc., 4th European Conf., on Unsaturated Soils. Les Ulis, France: EDP Sciences.
Lasdon, L. S., A. D. Waren, A. Jain, and M. Ratner. 1978. “Design and testing of a generalized reduced gradient code for nonlinear programming.” ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 4 (1): 34–50. https://doi.org/10.1145/355769.355773.
Li, X., and Y. Xu. 2020. “Determination and application of osmotic suction of saline solution in clay.” Environ. Earth Sci. 79 (1): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8795-x.
Li, X., X. Zheng, Y. Xu, and C. Li. 2022. “1D free swelling model of bentonite under chemomechanical coupling action.” Int. J. Geomech. 22 (11): 04022196. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002564.
Lin, Z., J. Qian, and Q. Zhai. 2022. “A novel hysteretic soil–water retention model with contact angle-dependent capillarity.” Int. J. Geomech. 22 (2): 06021037. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002284.
Lu, N. 2016. “Generalized soil water retention equation for adsorption and capillarity.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (10): 04016051. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)gt.1943-5606.0001524.
Lu, N., and W. J. Likos. 2006. “Suction stress characteristic curve for unsaturated soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (2): 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:2(131).
Lu, P. H., Y. He, Z. Zhang, and W. M. Ye. 2021. “Predicting chemical influence on soil water retention curves with models established based on pore structure evolution of compacted clay.” Comput. Geotech. 138: 104360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2021.104360.
Musso, G., E. Romero, and G. Della Vecchia. 2013. “Double-structure effects on the chemo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of a compacted active clay.” Géotechnique 63 (3): 206–220. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.SIP13.P.011.
Musso, G., E. Romero Morales, A. Gens, and E. Castellanos. 2003. “The role of structure in the chemically induced deformations of FEBEX bentonite.” Appl. Clay Sci. 23 (1–4): 229–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-1317(03)00107-8.
Ng, C. W. W., J. J. Ni, A. K. Leung, and Z. J. Wang. 2016a. “A new and simple water retention model for root-permeated soils.” Géotech. Lett. 6 (1): 106–111. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00187.
Ng, C. W. W., H. Sadeghi, S. K. B. Hossen, C. F. Chiu, E. E. Alonso, and S. Baghbanrezvan. 2016b. “Water retention and volumetric characteristics of intact and re-compacted loess.” Can. Geotech. J. 53 (8): 1258–1269. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2015-0364.
Ng, C. W. W., H. Sadeghi, and F. Jafarzadeh. 2017. “Compression and shear strength characteristics of compacted loess at high suctions.” Can. Geotech. J. 54 (5): 690–699. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2016-0347.
Ng, C. W. W., H. Sadeghi, F. Jafarzadeh, M. Sadeghi, C. Zhou, and S. Baghbanrezvan. 2020. “Effect of microstructure on shear strength and dilatancy of unsaturated loess at high suctions.” Can. Geotech. J. 57 (2): 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2018-0592.
Onyelowe, K. C., F. F. Mojtahedi, S. Azizi, H. A. Mahdi, E. R. Sujatha, A. M. Ebid, A. G. Darzi, and F. I. Aneke. 2022. “Innovative overview of SWRC application in modeling geotechnical engineering problems.” Designs 6 (5): 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/designs6050069.
Pouragha, M., M. Eghbalian, R. Wan, and T. Wong. 2021. “Derivation of soil water retention curve incorporating electrochemical effects.” Acta Geotech. 16: 1147–1160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-020-01070-z.
Qiao, Y., A. Tuttolomondo, X. Lu, L. Laloui, and W. Ding. 2021. “A generalized water retention model with soil fabric evolution.” Geomech. Energy Environ. 25: 100205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2020.100205.
Roy, S., and S. Rajesh. 2020. “Simplified model to predict features of soil–water retention curve accounting for stress state conditions.” Int. J. Geomech. 20 (3): 04019191. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001684.
Sadeghi, H. 2016. “A Micro-Structural Study on Hydro-Mechanical Behavior of Loess.” Dual-Degree Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology & Sharif University of Technology.
Sadeghi, H., and P. AliPanahi. 2020. “Saturated hydraulic conductivity of problematic soils measured by a newly developed low-compliance triaxial permeameter.” Eng. Geol. 278: 105827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105827.
Sadeghi, H., and A. Hedayati-Azar. 2023. “Theoretical and numerical study of contaminant transport in clayey barriers using a revised numerical model considering the dependency of membrane efficiency and hydraulic conductivity on solute concentration.” Heliyon 9: e15148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15148.
Sadeghi, H., S. B. Hossen, A. C. Chiu, Q. Cheng, and C. W. W. Ng. 2016. “Water retention curves of intact and re-compacted loess at different net stresses.” Jpn. Geotech. Soc. Spec. Publ. 2 (4): 221–225. https://doi.org/10.3208/jgssp.HKG-04.
Sadeghi, H., M. Kiani, M. Sadeghi, and F. Jafarzadeh. 2019. “Geotechnical characterization and collapsibility of a natural dispersive loess.” Eng. Geol. 250: 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENGGEO.2019.01.015.
Sadeghi, H., A. Kolahdooz, and M. M. Ahmadi. 2022. “Slope stability of an unsaturated embankment with and without natural pore water salinity subjected to rainfall infiltration.” Rock Soil Mech. 43 (8): 2136. https://doi.org/10.16285/j.rsm.2021.00155.
Sadeghi, H., and H. Nasiri. 2021. “Hysteresis of soil water retention and shrinkage characteristics for various molar concentrations.” Géotech. Lett. 11 (1): 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.20.00047.
Sadeghi, H., and C. W. W. Ng. 2018. “Shear behaviour of a desiccated loess with three different microstructures.” In Proc., 7th Int. Conf., on Unsaturated Soils. London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE).
Siemens, G. A. 2018. “Thirty-ninth Canadian geotechnical colloquium: Unsaturated soil mechanics — bridging the gap between research and practice.” Can. Geotech. J. 55 (7): 909–927. https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2016-0709.
Sun, H., D. Mašín, J. Najser, V. Neděla, and E. Navrátilová. 2020. “Fractal characteristics of pore structure of compacted bentonite studied by ESEM and MIP methods.” Acta Geotech. 15: 1655–1671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-019-00857-z.
Tarantino, A. 2009. “A water retention model for deformable soils.” Géotechnique 59 (9): 751–762. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.7.00118.
Thyagaraj, T., and S. M. Rao. 2010. “Influence of osmotic suction on the soil-water characteristic curves of compacted expansive clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 136 (12): 1695–1702. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)gt.1943-5606.0000389.
Thyagaraj, T., and U. Salini. 2015. “Effect of pore fluid osmotic suction on matric and total suctions of compacted clay.” Géotechnique 65 (11): 952–960. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.14.P.210.
van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
van Genuchten, M. T., F. J. Leij, and S. R. Yates. 1991. “The RETC code for quantifying the hydraulic functions of unsaturated soils”.
Wan, R., Pouragha, M., Eghbalian, M., Duriez, J., and Wong, T. 2019. “A probabilistic approach for computing water retention of particulate systems from statistics of grain size and tessellated pore network.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 43(5): 956–973. https://doi.org/10.1002/nag.2913
Xiang, G., W. Ye, F. Yu, Y. Wang, and Y. Fang. 2019. “Surface fractal dimension of bentonite affected by long-term corrosion in alkaline solution.” Appl. Clay Sci. 175: 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2019.04.010.
Xu, Y., G. Xiang, H. Jiang, T. Chen, and F. Chu. 2014. “Role of osmotic suction in volume change of clays in salt solution.” Appl. Clay Sci. 101: 354–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2014.09.006.
Yuan, C., B. Chareyre, and F. Darve. 2016. “Pore-scale simulations of drainage in granular materials: Finite size effects and the representative elementary volume.” Adv. Water Resour. 95: 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2015.11.018.
Zhang, F., W. M. Ye, Y. G. Chen, B. Chen, and Y. J. Cui. 2016. “Influences of salt solution concentration and vertical stress during saturation on the volume change behavior of compacted GMZ01 bentonite.” Eng. Geol. 207: 48–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2016.04.010.
Zhang, F., C. Zhao, S. D. N. Lourenço, S. Dong, and Y. Jiang. 2021. “Factors affecting the soil–water retention curve of Chinese loess.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 80 (1): 717–729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01959-9.
Zhou, C., and C. W. W. Ng. 2014. “A new and simple stress-dependent water retention model for unsaturated soil.” Comput. Geotech. 62: 216–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.07.012.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 11 • November 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 25, 2022
Accepted: May 31, 2023
Published online: Sep 11, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 11, 2024
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.