Title: Unsaturated flow in anisotropic heterogeneous media: a centrifuge study

Authors: Gustavo Borel Menezes; Andy Ward; H. Keith Moo-Young

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8151, USA. ' Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA. ' College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8150, USA

Abstract: Anisotropic and heterogeneous flow in unsaturated porous media is dependent on saturation conditions, and currently there exist limited options that adequately model this phenomenon. Herein, a modified unsaturated flow apparatus (UFA) and scaled centrifuge tests are used to investigate variations in unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The method is used to find the unsaturated hydraulic conductivities for a layered system comprised of porous media with different hydraulic conductivities, which is tested under elevated levels of gravitational acceleration. The procedure is useful in reducing model size and test time, resulting in a feasible setup for laboratory scale experiments. Steady state volumetric water content is achieved under each pair of applied inflow rate and centrifuge speeds, allowing the determination of a corresponding unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The setup also allows for rotation of the layered system for measurement of both vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities. The obtained values of hydraulic conductivity show a good fit to theoretical models and the degrees of anisotropy obtained are consistent with the literature. Overall, the results obtained using the modified unsaturated flow apparatus (UFA) indicate a great potential for further studying unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in anisotropic heterogeneous media, especially those with very low hydraulic conductivities.

Keywords: unsaturated flow; hydraulic conductivity; anisotropy; connectivity tensor; geotechnical centrifuge; scaling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2011.043281

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2011 Vol.1 No.3/4, pp.147 - 163

Published online: 31 Oct 2014 *

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