Advances in the modeling of the soil–water characteristic curve using pore-scale analysis

A theoretical model for the prediction of the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) is presented using pore-scale analysis and three-dimensional approximations of pore geometry employing the concept of unit cells. The model considers the effect of particle size and packing porosity on funicular and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and geotechnics 2020-11, Vol.127, p.103766, Article 103766
Main Authors: Alves, Roberto D., Gitirana Jr, Gilson de F.N., Vanapalli, Sai K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beads
Contact angle
Drying
Glass
Glass beads
Grain size
Grain size distribution
Modelling
Particle size
Particle size distribution
Pore scale
Porosity
Retention
Sands
Size distribution
Sodium
Sodium chloride
Soil
Soil porosity
Soil water
Soils
Soil–water characteristic curve
Surface tension
Three dimensional analysis
Unit cell
Wetting
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Summary:A theoretical model for the prediction of the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) is presented using pore-scale analysis and three-dimensional approximations of pore geometry employing the concept of unit cells. The model considers the effect of particle size and packing porosity on funicular and pendular retention. The unit cell was upscaled to non-uniform soils using the grain-size distribution curve. SWCC experiments on uniform and graded glass beads were carried out to provide verification data. Predictions for the glass beads showed reasonable results for drying SWCCs. The nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 and sodium chloride were utilized to demonstrate the role of the contact angle and surface tension. The modeling of wetting curves using advancing contact angles indicated the need to consider additional hysteresis mechanisms. The hypothesis of independent grain-size fractions often underestimated matric suctions, leading to the proposal of a correction function using the coefficient of uniformity. The proposed approaches were compared to four previously published models, using 58 glass beads and sandy materials. The new models provided superior results for most of the materials studied. The proposed framework offers a general approach that may be modified in the future by including other retention mechanisms and unit cell geometries.
ISSN:0266-352X
1873-7633
DOI:10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103766