• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2017

As a measure of the combined effect of fracture geometry, the fabric tensor parameters could quantify the status of the connected fluid flow paths in discrete fracture network (DFN). The correlation analysis between fabric tensor parameters and hydraulic properties of the 2-D DFN was performed in this study. It is found that there exists a strong nonlinear relationship between the directional conductivity and the fabric tensor component estimated in the direction normal to the direction of hydraulic conductivity. The circular radial plots without significant variation of the first invariant ($F_0$) of fabric tensor for different sized 2-D DFN block are a necessary condition for treating representative element volume (REV) of a fractured rock mass. The relative error (ER) between the numerically calculated directional hydraulic conductivity and the theoretical directional hydraulic conductivity decreases with the increase in $F_0$. A strong functional relation seems to exist between the $F_0$ and the average block hydraulic conductivity.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.2369-2379
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• 2013

The Soil-Water Characteristics Curve (SWCC) is affected by the initial density of soil under unsaturated condition. Also, the characteristic of hydraulic conductivity is changed by the initial density of soil. To study the effect of initial density of unsaturated soil, SWCC and the Hydraulic Conductivity Function (HCF) of Jumoonjin sand with various relative densities, 40%, 60% and 75% were measured in both drying and wetting processes. As the results of SWCC estimated by van Genuchten (1980) model, the parameter related to Air Entry Value(AEV), ${\alpha}$ in the wetting process is larger than that in drying process, but the parameters related to the SWCC slope, n and the residual water content, m are larger than those in wetting process. The AEV is increased or Water Entry Value (WEV) is decreased with increasing the relative density of sand. The AEV is larger than the WEV at the same relative density of sand. As the results of HCF estimated by van Genuchten (1980) model which is one of the parameter estimation methods, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity maintained at a saturated one in the low level of matric suctions and then suddenly decreased just before the AEV or the WEV. The saturated hydraulic conductivity in drying process is larger than that in wetting process. The saturated hydraulic conductivity is decreased with increasing the relative density of sand in both drying and wetting processes. Also, the hysteresis in unsaturated HCFs between drying and wetting process was occurred like the hysteresis in SWCCs. According to the test results, the AEV on SWCC is decreased and the saturated hydraulic conductivity is increased with increasing the initial density. It means that SWCC and HCF are affected by the initial density in the unsaturated soil.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.16 no.1 s.47
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• pp.15-21
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• 2006

Sandy soils obtained from the field were examined by the way of particle analyses. The hydraulic conductivity values of the disturbed soil samples were measured by the falling head method. Then the correlations between the hydraulic conductivity and particle distribution were defined. The soil which was a product of the weathering of the granitic rocks belonged to sand and loamy sand area in a sand-silt-clay triangular diagram. The measurements of hydraulic conductivity were $1.15X10^{-5}\sim7.31X10^{-4}cm/sec$ which is the range of sand and silt. It was clearly observed that the hydraulic conductivity measurements of the sandy soils showed stronger correlations with the particle variances rather than the mean grain sizes. The larger the variances, the smaller the hydraulic conductivity measurements. The sandy soil which was a product of weathered granite and whose mean grain size was $0.38\sim1.97mm$ showed regression curves of $y=6.0E-5x^{-1.4}$ in a correlations between hydraulic conductivity and particle variances. Accordingly, it is clearly concluded that making estimates with-out any consideration about particle variances can produce serious errors.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.27-41
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• 2017

This study dealt with the characteristics and the interrelations of hydrogeological parameters such as hydraulic conductivity, dispersivity and effective porosity of unconsolidated sediments for providing the basic data necessary for the planning of the management and preservation of groundwater quality in the Nakdong River Delta of Busan City, Korea. Groundwater quality in this area has been deteriorated due to seawater intrusion, agricultural fertilizer and pesticide, industrial wastewater, and contaminated river water. The physical properties (grain size distribution, sediment type, sorting) and aquifer parameters (hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity, longitudinal dispersivity) were determined from grain size analysis, laboratory permeability test and column tracer test. Among 36 samples, there were 18 Sand (S), 7 Gravelly Sand (gS), 5 Silty Sand (zS), 5 Muddy Sand (mS), and 1 Sandy Silt (sZ). Hydraulic conductivity was determined through a falling head test, and ranged from $9.2{\times}10^{-5}$ to $2.9{\times}10^{-2}cm/sec$ (0.08 to 25.6 m/day). From breakthrough curves, dispersivity was calculated to be 0.35~3.92 cm. Also, effective porosity and average linear velocity were obtained through the column tracer test, and their values were 0.04~0.46 and 1.06E-04~6.49E-02 cm/sec, respectively. Statistical methods were used to understand the interrelations among aquifer parameters of hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity and dispersivity. The relation between dispersivity and hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity considered the sample length, because dispersivity was affected by experimental scale. The relations between dispersivity and hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity were all in inverse proportion for all long and short samples. The reason was because dispersivity was in inverse proportion to the groundwater velocity in case of steady hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient, and groundwater velocity was in proportion to the hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity. This study also elucidated that longitudinal dispersivity was dependent on the scale of column tracer test, and all hydrogeological parameters were low to high values due to the sand quantity of sediments. It is expected that the hydrogeological parameter data of sediments will be very useful for the planning of groundwater management and preservation in the Nakdong River Delta of Busan City, Korea.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2003

A geophysical conductivity logging technique has been adopted to determine hydraulic constants using a simplified physical model that depicts the borehole condition. An experiment has been made by monitoring the conductivity change within the model hole using borehole environment water and incoming-outgoing water of different salinity, under the state of constant flow rate by maintaining balance between inflow and outflow. Conductivity variation features were observed that depended on flow rate, salinity contrasts between fluid within the hole and incoming-outgoing fluid, and density contrasts between fluid conductivity within the hole and incoming fluid. The results of the experiment show the uniform change of fluid conductivity within the hole with time, a fairly good correlation between the flow rate and the conductivity change rate. The geophysical conductivity logging technique can be an efficient tool for determining hydraulic constants if the model equation is verified by henceforward experiments.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.329-337
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• 2020

Polyacrylamide (PAM) possesses high water absorption capacity and a unique pH-dependent behavior that confer large potential to enhance the engineering performance of clays. In this study, calcium bentonite was treated with a nonionic PAM. Flexible-wall permeability test and the consolidation test were performed at different pH values to evaluate the effects of PAM treatment on the hydraulic and consolidation properties. Test results demonstrate that index properties are affected by the adsorbed PAM on clay surface: a decrease in specific gravity, a decrease in net zeta potential, and an increase in liquid limit are observed due to the PAM treatment. At a given pH, the compressibility of the treated clay is greater than that of the untreated clay. However, the compression indices of untreated and treated clays can be expressed as a single function of the initial void ratio, regardless of pH. Hydraulic conductivity is reduced by PAM treatment about 5 times at both neutral and alkaline pH conditions under similar void ratios, because of the reduction in size of the water flow channel by PAM expansion. However, at acidic pH, the hydraulic conductivity of the treated clay is slightly higher than the untreated clay. This reflects that the treated bentonite with PAM can be beneficially used in barrier system for highly alkaline residues.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.498-507
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• 2008

The mixture of bentonite powder and water is generally used to maintain the stability of excavation surface during the construction of vertical cutoff walls. The filter cake on the sidewall surface is the result of filtration of slurry into the adjacent soil formation. The filter cake is believed to have a very low hydraulic conductivity compared to that of the cutoff wall. This paper evaluates hydraulic conductivities of bentonite filter cakes set up with three types of bentonites under various pressure levels. A modified fluid loss test was employed in this experiment. Theory of filtration process was reviewed to explain the procedure in the present experiment. Hydraulic conductivity of the filter cakes with consideration of the filter medium resistance was evaluated. The results of the experiment with two calculation methods and discussion are presented to show the efficiency of the modified fluid loss test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1502-1511
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• 2008

The mixture of bentonite powder and water is generally used to maintain the stability of excavation surface during the construction of vertical cutoff walls. The filter cake on the sidewall surface is the result of filtration of slurry into the adjacent soil formation. The filter cake is believed to have a very low hydraulic conductivity compared to that of the cutoff wall. This paper evaluates hydraulic conductivities of bentonite filter cakes set up with three types of bentonites under various pressure levels. A modified fluid loss test was employed in this experiment. Theory of filtration process was reviewed to explain the procedure in the present experiment. Hydraulic conductivity of the filter cakes with consideration of the filter medium resistance was evaluated. The results of the experiment with two calculation methods and discussion are presented to show the efficiency of the modified fluid loss test.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.317-326
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• 2023

Accurately measuring the hydraulic conductivity of dredged slurry (HCODS) is a difficult task and usually requires highly developed experimental techniques. To resolve such problem, this paper presents a novel laboratory method, where a double drainage sedimentation test (DDST) is proposed to generate a downward seepage after the end of primary consolidation (EOP). Based on the established stress equilibrium equations, it is figured out that the determination of local hydraulic gradients requires the effective stress distribution to be measured. Accordingly, an additional single drainage sedimentation test (SDST) with the same initial water content is performed in the novel laboratory method, which can be utilized to establish the relationship between effective stress and water content for investigated slurry. Thus, HCODS can be determined via a pair of SDST and DDST, with the water contents after the EOP measured. The corresponding calculation procedure is given in details. With a simply-designed settling column, the hydraulic conductivity tests were performed on three types of dredged slurry. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the novel laboratory method in measuring HCODS.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Many cases of strategically designed groundwater remediation have lack of information of hydraulic conductivity or permeability, which can render remediation methods inefficient. Many studies have been carried out to minimize this shortcoming by determining detailed hydraulic information either through direct or indirect measurements. One popular method for hydraulic characterization is the pilot point method (PPM), where the hydraulic property is estimated at a small number of strategically selected points using secondary measurements such as hydraulic head or tracer concentration. This paper adopted a D-optimality based pilot point method (DBM) developed previously for hydraulic head measurements and extended it to include both hydraulic head and tracer measurements. Based on different combinations of trials, our analysis showed that DBM performs well when hydraulic head is used for pilot point selection and both hydraulic head and tracer measurements are used for determining the conductivity values.