Permeability tensor and representative elementary volume of saturated cracked soil

Abstract

Cracks are prevalent in near-ground-surface soils and provide preferential pathways for fluid flow. Cracks increase water infiltration or contaminant solute transport into soils. This paper studies the development of a permeability tensor and a representative elementary volume (REV) for saturated cracked soils. First, a method of generating random crack networks based on the statistical parameters of the crack geometry is presented. Then, the permeability tensor and REV for a crack network are studied by modeling water flow through the generated random crack networks. Finally, the permeability tensor for a cracked soil is obtained by combining the crack network and the soil matrix, and the properties of the permeability tensor and the REV for the cracked soils are investigated. Results show that the permeability tensor can be used to represent the permeability anisotropy of a cracked soil. An REV can be readily established when the crack network is relatively dense. An REV can be defined and the contribution of the crack network to permeability is small when a crack network exists in homogeneous sands. An REV is harder to establish and the hydraulic conductivity is dominated by the random crack network when a sparse crack network exists in clays.