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Numerical simulation of wetting-induced collapse in partially saturated granular soils

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Abstract

Wetting collapse in sand is examined by means of experiments under X-ray tomography and pore-scale coupled DEM simulations. Two different deformation patterns are observed depending on the average particle size: vertical shrinkage for coarser sand, isotropic shrinkage for the finer one. A series of numerical tests is performed to highlight the role of a dimensionless “column number” in the transition from one deformation mode to the other. The column number reflects the intensity of the gravitational effects compared to that of capillarity effects. It is found that the vertical shrinkage appears when this number is large enough (gravitational forces dominate). In all cases the imbibition pattern is rather heterogeneous as water invades the narrow pores first. It leads to a very heterogeneous deformation process at the mesoscale, with local densification and creation of cavities occurring concurrently. This phenomenon reveals the dual contribution of capillary forces, which are simultaneously driving forces for some internal deformation processes and resisting forces for others.

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Acknowledgements

This research activity was developed in the framework of different projects: (1) 2014–2015 Erasmus + European Project, (2) Progetto FARB 2015 (Cod. 154348) “Sperimentazione di laboratorio e modellazione costitutiva di terreni parzialmente saturi”, (3) Progetto FARB 2016 (Cod. 163001) “Analisi multi-scalare del comportamento meccanico di terreni non saturi”, (4) 2015–2016 Galileo Project Campus France “Soil mechanical behaviour from grain to specimen scale laboratory testing: towards new sustainable mitigation works against flow-like landslides and similar phenomena related to climate change” Grant No. G15-110. The Chao Yuan was partly funded by Labex TEC21 from the University of Grenoble-Alpes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 3SR lab, BP53, Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, CNRS UMR5521, 38041, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Chao Yuan & Bruno Chareyre

  2. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Chao Yuan

  3. Laboratory of Geotechnics, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Salerno, 84084, Fisciano, Italy

    Mariagiovanna Moscariello & Sabatino Cuomo

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  1. Chao Yuan
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  2. Mariagiovanna Moscariello
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Correspondence to Sabatino Cuomo.

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Yuan, C., Moscariello, M., Cuomo, S. et al. Numerical simulation of wetting-induced collapse in partially saturated granular soils. Granular Matter 21, 64 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10035-019-0921-7

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