Abstract
Fallout volcanic deposits of Somma- Vesuvius (Campania, southern Italy), characterized by the presence of layers with contrasting textural and hydraulic properties, are frequently affected by shallow landslides during rainwater infiltration. The soils of the stratigraphic sequence present intra- particle pores, originated by the gases escaped during magma decompression in the volcanic conduit, thus are characterized by double porosity (i.e., intraparticle and interparticle pores), which is expected to affect their hydraulic behaviour, and to play a key role in rainwater infiltration through layered deposits. To understand the effect of double porosity on the hydraulic behaviour of the involved soils, controlled experiments have been carried out in an infiltration column. The experimental apparatus is provided with newly designed non-invasive Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) probes, not buried in the investigated soil layers so as to minimize disturbance to the flow, allowing water content measurement during vertical flow processes. Specifically, transient flow experiments are carried out through reconstituted specimens of black scoriae and grey pumices, both loose pyroclastic granular soils from fallout deposits of Somma-Vesuvius, featuring double porosity with different pore size distributions, that were estimated by X-ray tomography and Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry. The experimental results highlight the effects of the double porosity and clearly indicate the different behaviour of the two soils during wetting and drying processes, mainly related to the different dimensions of intraparticle pores.
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Availability of Data/Materials: The experimental datasets produced during this study, as well as the relevant numerical elaborations, are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and within the framework of cooperation agreements and scientific research projects.
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Funding note: Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
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Ciro Sepe: Data curation; Investigation; Validation; Writing - original draft; Domenico Calcaterra: Supervision; Funding acquisition; Writing - review & editing; Emilia Damiano: Methodology; Supervision; Investigation; Validation; Writing - original draft, review & editing; Diego Di Martire: Supervision; Writing - review & editing. Roberto Greco: Methodology; Supervision; Investigation; Software; Writing - original draft, review & editing. Lucia Pappalardo: Data curation; Investigation; Validation; Writing - original draft, review & editing. Massimo Ramondini: Methodology; Investigation; Supervision; Enza Vitale: Data curation; Investigation; Validation; Writing - original draft; Giacomo Russo: Methodology; Supervision; Investigation; Validation; Writing - original draft, review & editing.
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Sepe, C., Calcaterra, D., Damiano, E. et al. Transient infiltration tests in pyroclastic soils with double porosity. J. Mt. Sci. 20, 3327–3342 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-7955-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-7955-3