Title: An empirical method for estimating the soil hydraulic conductivity using particle size distribution curve, case study: Isfahan City

Authors: Farid Fazileh; Gholam H. Karami; Rassoul Ajalloeian

Addresses: Faculty of Earth Science, Shahrood University of Technology, Semnan, Iran ' Faculty of Earth Science, Shahrood University of Technology, Semnan, Iran ' Department of Geology Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract: Various equations have been developed for assessing the hydraulic conductivity (K) based on particle size distribution. Since the percentages of fine and coarse particles in a sediment significantly influence its permeability, values of K obtained using these empirical equations are erroneous. In this research, a new and applicable equation has been advised which is based on the percentages of fine and large particles in the sample. The following relationship obtained from multiple linear regressions between values of K and corresponding particle size data: K = 0.0419 (F_k)² − 0.1478 (F_k) + 1.5629, F_k = 30P_g(2) − 3P_S(0.1) + 3.2. The validity of this new presented equation has been controlled with eight new samples. Calculated values of K using this equation yield relative errors of 5% to 10% which fall in range of allowable errors.

Keywords: hydraulic conductivity; Iran; Isfahan; grain size distribution; sieve analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2020.109950

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2020 Vol.10 No.5, pp.504 - 513

Received: 11 Jun 2018
Accepted: 02 Jan 2019
Published online: 30 Sep 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article