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Hydrostatics and hydrodynamics in swelling soils
Author(s) -
Philip J. R.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr005i005p01070
Subject(s) - soil water , swelling , geotechnical engineering , consolidation (business) , soil science , oedometer test , hydraulic head , porous medium , mechanics , geology , porosity , materials science , physics , composite material , accounting , business
The generalization to swelling soils of the mathematical theory of water movement in unsaturated soils involves the following extensions to the classic analysis: (1) recognition that Darcy's law applies relative to the soil particles, (2) inclusion of the void ratio function in the characterization of the soil, and (3) reconsideration of hydrostatics in swelling media. For swelling soils the total potential includes an additional component, the overburden potential Ω. Evaluation of Ω leads to the condition for equilibrium in the vertical, which is a first order linear differential equation with singular coefficients. Three types of equilibrium profile follow: hydric profiles with moisture gradient d∂/dz < 0, pycnotatic profiles with d∂/dz = 0, and xeric profiles with d∂/dz > 0. Other phenomena in swelling soils treated include steady vertical flows and unsteady horizontal and vertical flows. Classic concepts of ground‐water hydrology, tacitly based on the behavior of nonswelling media, fail completely for swelling soils. The approach also provides a theory of consolidation which includes the influences of (1) soil particle movement, (2) unsaturation, and (3) self‐weight.