Abstract
Research into the permeability of dispersive soils featuring high erodibility remains rather limited, especially from a pore-scale perspective. This study focused on the relationship between permeability of remolded dispersive soil (lean clay) and its initial pore scale characteristics, via constant-head permeation and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests, with consideration of soil salinity and freeze–thaw (F-T) effects. Main findings are as follows. The peak hydraulic conductivity (kmax) appeared at the initial permeation stage linked initial pore-scale parameters. Pores inside of soil could be classified into two groups (> 10 and < 10 μm) based on MIP results. Increase in salt contents led to increased volume of pores > 10 μm (Vp>10) and porosity (n), but decreasing tortuosity (τ) and fractal dimension (Df). In addition, 5 F-T cycles maximized Vp>10 and n but minimized τ, and Df reached its maximum after 10 cycles. Correlation analyses found that Vp>10, n and τ correlated with kmax; a combined variable ndave2 showed better correlation to kmax than others regarding pore diameter; besides, and no correlation was found between Df and kmax, but Df should not be ignored as it described the complexity of pore structure. Finally, based on grey relation entropy method, the above pore-scale parameters were extracted to compare their contributions under coupled effects of salinity and F-T to the variation in kmax. The following order of importance was found: ndave2 ≈ Vp>10 > n > Df > τ. Moreover, single impact of F-T on the contribution ranking was less intense than that of salinity.
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Funding
This work has received financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41820104001, No. 41627801) and Jilin Provincial Water Resources Department (No. 126002–2020-0001).
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Han, Y., Wang, Q., Liu, J. et al. Pore-scale study on the characteristic hydraulic conductivity of a dispersive lean clay affected by salinity and freeze–thaw. Bull Eng Geol Environ 81, 107 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02608-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02608-z