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Numerical simulation of the influence of seepage direction on suffusion in granular soils

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Abstract

To study the internal phenomenon of suffusion process in granular soils and determine its influence of the seepage direction, numerical simulations were conducted using the Particle Flow Code (PFC) software in different seepage directions. The fixed coarse-grid fluid scheme in PFC3D was used for particle-fluid coupling simulations, and a new gravity-applied method was implemented to simulate different seepage directions. Variations in the mean contact force, flow rate, porosity, permeability, and number and volume of escaped particles with an increasing hydraulic gradient and the migration pathways of fine particles during the simulation were monitored and analyzed. The results show that a larger seepage angle corresponds to a smaller flow rate under the same hydraulic gradient. The fine particles initially moved downward under gravity and then stopped and remained at a certain position. The fine particles subsequently began to move upward and finally escaped from the top surface of the model. The migration pathways of fine particles were random and their directions of motion changed continuously.

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Funding

This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51709159, 51911530214), Shandong Provincial Key R&D Program of China (2019GSF111030); the State Key Laboratory of Mining Disaster Prevention and Control Co-founded by Shandong Province and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MDPC201802); and the CRSRI Open Research Program (Program SN: CKWV2018468/KY).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Ji’nan, Shandong, China

    Zongqing Zhou, Zhuohui Li, Shaoshuai Shi & Cheche Wei

  2. State Key Laboratory of Mining Disaster Prevention and Control Co-founded by Shandong Province and the Ministry of Science and Technology, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, China

    Zongqing Zhou & Zhijie Wen

  3. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering of Ministry of Water Resources, Yangtze River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Zongqing Zhou

  4. Deep Earth Energy Research Laboratory, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Pathegama Gamage Ranjith

Authors
  1. Zongqing Zhou
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  2. Zhuohui Li
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  3. Pathegama Gamage Ranjith
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  4. Zhijie Wen
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  5. Shaoshuai Shi
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  6. Cheche Wei
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhijie Wen or Shaoshuai Shi.

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Responsible Editor: Zeynal Abiddin Erguler

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Zhou, Z., Li, Z., Ranjith, P.G. et al. Numerical simulation of the influence of seepage direction on suffusion in granular soils. Arab J Geosci 13, 669 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05504-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-05504-6

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