Abstract
In embankments and earth dams, the granular filter used to protect the base soil from being eroded by the fluid flow is a major safety device. In this paper, the migration mechanism of the base soil through this type of filters with a fluid flow in the base soil-filter system is studied by using the coupled distinct element method and computational fluid dynamics (DEM-CFD) model. The time-dependent variations of the system parameters such as the total eroded base soil mass, the distribution of the eroded particles within the filter, the porosity, the pore water pressure, and the flow discharge are obtained and analyzed. The conceptions of the trapped particle and the trapped ratio are proposed in order to evaluate the trapped condition of the base soil particles in the filter. The variation of the trapped ratio with time is also analyzed. The results show that the time evolutions of the parameters mentioned above are directly related to the gradation of the filter, which is defined as the representative particle size ratio of the base soil to the filter using an empirical filter design criterion. The feasibility of the model is validated by comparing the numerical results with some experimental and numerical results.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
FOSTER M., FELL R. and SPANNAGLE M. The statistics of embankment dam failures and accidents[J]. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2000, 37(5): 1000–1024.
SILVEIRA A. An analysis of the problem of washing through in protective filters[C]. Proceeding of 6th International Conference of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. Toronto, Canada, 1965, 551–555.
REDDI L. N., MING X. and HAJRA M. G. et al. Permeability reduction of soil filters due to physical clogging[ J]. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2000, 126(3): 236–246.
INDRARATNA B., VAFAI F. Analytical model for particle migration within base soil-filter system[J]. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 1997, 123(2): 100–109.
LOCKE M., INDRARATNA B. and ADIKARI G. Time-dependent particle transport through granular filters[ J]. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2001, 127(6): 521–529.
REBOUL N., VINCENS E. and CAMBOU B. A statistical analysis of void size distribution in a simulated narrowly graded packing of spheres[J]. Granular Matter, 2008, 10(6): 457–468.
REBOUL N., VINCENS E. and CAMBOU B. A computational procedure to assess the distribution of constriction sizes for an assembly of spheres[J]. Computers and Geotechnics, 2010, 37(1-2): 195–206.
FRISHFELDS V., HELLSTROM J. G. I. and LUNDSTROM T. S. et al. Fluid flow induced internal erosion within porous media: modelling of the no erosion filter test experiment[J]. Transport in Porous Media, 2011, 89(3): 441–457.
ZOU Y.-H, CHEN Q. and CHEN X.-Q. et al. Discrete numerical modeling of particle transport in granular filters[ J]. Computers and Geotechnics, 2013, 47: 48–56.
SHAMY U. E., AYDIN F. Multiscale modeling of flood-induced piping in river levees[J]. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2008, 134(9): 1385–1398.
ZHU H. P., ZHOU Z. Y. and YANG R. Y. et al. Discrete particle simulation of particulate systems: Theoretical developments[J]. Chemical Engineering Science, 2007, 62(13): 3378–3396.
SAIL Y., MAROT D. and SIBILLE L. et al. Suffusion tests on cohesionless granular matter: Experimental study[ J]. European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, 2011, 15(5): 799–817.
SARI H., CHAREYRE B. and CATALANO E. et al. Investigation of internal erosion processes using a coupled dem-fluid method[C]. Particles 2011 II International Conference on Particle-Based Methods-Fundamentals and Applications. Barcelona, Spain, 2011, 1–11.
ZHANG Gang. Researches on meso-scale mechanism of piping failure by means of model test and PFC numerical simulation[D]. Doctoral Thesis, Shanghai, China: Tongji University, 2007(in Chinese).
ZHOU Jian. BAI Yan-feng and YAO Zhi-xiong. Mesoscale model test on filter prevention of piping-typed soils[J]. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 2010, 41(4): 390–397(in Chinese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51079039, 51009053 and 50779012).
Biography: HUANG Qing-fu (1985-), Male, Ph.D. Candidate
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, Qf., Zhan, Ml., Sheng, Jc. et al. Investigation of fluid flow-induced particle migration in granular filters using a DEM-CFD method. J Hydrodyn 26, 406–415 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(14)60046-9
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(14)60046-9