Open Access

ARTICLE

Analysis of the Microstructure and Macroscopic Fluid-Dynamics Behavior of Soft Soil after Seepage Consolidation

Fang Jin^*, Dong Zhou, Liying Zhu
Institute of Civil Engineering, Huanghe S&T University, Zhengzhou, 450063, China
* Corresponding Author: Fang Jin. Email:
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: EFD and Heat Transfer III)

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2022, 18(2), 285-302. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2022.017593

Received 22 May 2021; Accepted 29 July 2021; Issue published 16 December 2021

Abstract

The purpose is to study the microstructure and macroscopic fluid-dynamic behavior of soft soil after it has been subjected to a seepage consolidation procedure. First, the microscopic pore structure of soft clay is quantitatively studied by a scanning electron microscope technique. Second, the average contact area rate of soil particles is obtained employing statistical analysis applied to microscopic images of soft soil, and the macroscopic porosity of soft clay is determined through an indoor geotechnical test. Finally, mathematical relationships are introduced by fitting the results of the test. The results show that the unmodified empirical equation for the permeability coefficient of coarse-grained soil produces large errors in calculations related to cohesive soils. By contrast, the permeability coefficient calculated by the empirical equation modified by the average contact area ratio theory is in good agreement with the measured average value of the indoor test.

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Keywords

Seepage consolidation; soil structure; microstructure; macro-mechanics

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