Water retention of clayey soils with wide particle size distributions involves a combination of capillary and adsorbed layers effects that result into suction–saturation relations spanning over multiple decades of matric suction values. The present study provides a physics-based analysis to reproduce the water retention curve of such soils based solely on particle size distribution and porosity. The distribution of inter-particle pore sizes is inferred through a probabilistic treatment of the particle size distribution, which is then used, together with an assigned pore entry pressure, to estimate the inter-particle water volume at a given suction. The contribution to water content from adsorbed layers is also taken into account by considering the balance of electrochemical forces between water and clay material. The total water content is therefore found by summing up the contribution of inter-particle water, as well as adsorbed layers that form around clay particles and around the individual clay platelets. Comparisons with experimental results on nine different soil samples verify the capability of the model in accurately predicting the wide water retention curves without any prior calibration. Additional to capturing the essential features of the water retention curve with remarkable detail, the analytical model also provides insights into the relative contributions of capillary and adsorbed waters to the overall saturation at different suction regimes. Being based upon easily accessible information such as particle size distribution and void ratio, the model can therefore be considered as a substitute for costly and lengthy laboratory and in situ measurements of water retention curve.
Fox Creek is a small tributary of the Saddle River, a tributary of the Peace River in northwestern Alberta. It has several
dormant landslides with degraded scarps and grabens. A new, reactivated landslide on the north bank of the Fox Creek occurred
on 5 May 2007. The landslide formed two major sliding blocks. A rapid translational block slide, it mobilized 47 Mm3 of displaced materials, blocked the creek, and made a natural dam with a maximum height of 19 m at the tips of the displaced
blocks. The rupture surfaces of the 2007 landslide were within the advance phase glaciolacustrine sediments. The residual
friction angles are about 10° similar to those of the previous landslides in the Peace River Lowland. Precipitation and snow
melt prior to the landslide are likely triggers of the 2007 Fox Creek landslide. The farmlands on the crest of the river valley
and timber resources were impacted. The current landslide dam in Fox Creek does not have any evidence of seepage downstream;
it may last for many years. Eventually, the creek will overtop and erode the dam. The same cycle of actions, landsliding,
damming, and erosion will continue in the foreseeable future. 相似文献
The drying-induced deformation behaviour of Opalinus Clay and tuff, which are being investigated under international and local
collaborative projects for nuclear waste disposal in Switzerland and Japan, was investigated under a no-stress condition in
the laboratory to evaluate their generic susceptibility to the formation of excavation damaged zone. The cylindrical core
samples of Opalinus Clay and tuff were prepared to a one-dimensional drying condition and submitted to an uncontrolled laboratory
environment. The strain evolution, evaporative water loss and environmental entities, such as temperature and relative humidity,
were recorded simultaneously and quasi-continuously. It was observed that the drying phase induced significant strain magnitude
and damage in Opalinus Clay samples, which was evidenced by the formation of hairy cracks on the surface parallel to the bedding.
On the contrary, the strain occurrences in tuff samples were relatively insignificant, and no tendency of cracking was observed.
In addition, the quasi-continuous availability of volumetric strains was further used in poroelastic relation for the estimation
of capillary suction evolution. The calculated results were validated with pore size distributions obtained from mercury intrusion
porosimetry. 相似文献