A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils
This paper presents a simple fractal model to quantify the effects of initial porosity on the soil-water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. In the proposed conceptual model, the change of maximum pore radius, which largely determines the change of the air-entry value, i...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2019-01-01
|
| Series: | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3965803 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832549690140262400 |
|---|---|
| author | Annan Zhou Yang Fan Wen-Chieh Cheng Junran Zhang |
| author_facet | Annan Zhou Yang Fan Wen-Chieh Cheng Junran Zhang |
| author_sort | Annan Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a simple fractal model to quantify the effects of initial porosity on the soil-water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. In the proposed conceptual model, the change of maximum pore radius, which largely determines the change of the air-entry value, is directly related to the fractal dimension of pore volume (D) and porosity change. The hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils are then governed by the maximum pore radius, the fractal dimension of pore volume (D), and the fractal dimension of drainable pore volume (Dd ≤ D). The new fractal model removes the empirical fitting parameters that have no physical meaning from existing models for porosity-dependent water retention and hydraulic behaviour and employs parameters of fractal dimensions that are intrinsic to the nature of the fractal porous materials. The proposed model is then validated against experimental data from the literature on soil-water retention behaviour and unsaturated conductivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4866ad8e0b743a28970c3765a027ad4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-8086 1687-8094 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Civil Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4866ad8e0b743a28970c3765a027ad42025-02-03T06:10:48ZengWileyAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942019-01-01201910.1155/2019/39658033965803A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated SoilsAnnan Zhou0Yang Fan1Wen-Chieh Cheng2Junran Zhang3School of Engineering, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne, VIC 3001, AustraliaSchool of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, ChinaHenan Province Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Structural Engineering, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan 450045, ChinaThis paper presents a simple fractal model to quantify the effects of initial porosity on the soil-water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. In the proposed conceptual model, the change of maximum pore radius, which largely determines the change of the air-entry value, is directly related to the fractal dimension of pore volume (D) and porosity change. The hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils are then governed by the maximum pore radius, the fractal dimension of pore volume (D), and the fractal dimension of drainable pore volume (Dd ≤ D). The new fractal model removes the empirical fitting parameters that have no physical meaning from existing models for porosity-dependent water retention and hydraulic behaviour and employs parameters of fractal dimensions that are intrinsic to the nature of the fractal porous materials. The proposed model is then validated against experimental data from the literature on soil-water retention behaviour and unsaturated conductivity.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3965803 |
| spellingShingle | Annan Zhou Yang Fan Wen-Chieh Cheng Junran Zhang A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils Advances in Civil Engineering |
| title | A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils |
| title_full | A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils |
| title_fullStr | A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils |
| title_short | A Fractal Model to Interpret Porosity-Dependent Hydraulic Properties for Unsaturated Soils |
| title_sort | fractal model to interpret porosity dependent hydraulic properties for unsaturated soils |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3965803 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annanzhou afractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT yangfan afractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT wenchiehcheng afractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT junranzhang afractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT annanzhou fractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT yangfan fractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT wenchiehcheng fractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils AT junranzhang fractalmodeltointerpretporositydependenthydraulicpropertiesforunsaturatedsoils |