Particle-scale observation of seepage flow in granular soils using PIV and CFD
File(s)
Accepted version
Accepted version
Author(s)
Sanvitale, N
Zhao, budi
Bowman, Elisabeth
O'Sullivan, Catherine
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Seepage-induced instabilities pose a challenge in many geotechnical applications. Particle-scale mechanisms govern the initiation of instability. However, current understanding is based on a macro-scale perspective that draws on continuum mechanics. Recent developments in imaging and numerical analysis can provide the particle-scale fundamental perspective needed to develop a comprehensive insight. This contribution demonstrates the value of combining particle-scale experimental and numerical studies. The experiments consider transparent soil samples created using refractive image matching and monitored by particle image velocimetry (PIV). Three-dimensional pore topology is extracted from a series of 2D images and imported into computational fluid dynamics (CFD)simulations. Permeability is estimated by three distinct approaches: using flow rate, PIV-and CFD-generated data. The flow fields obtained from PIV and CFD are in good agreement considering both flow rate contour plots and flow rate distributions; this demonstrates the successful reconstruction of three-dimensional pore structure and flow-field analysis. The comparison also reveals that the side boundary effects in CFD simulations are constrained within a limited region. The multi-plane results characterize the variance of flow velocity with the three-dimensional pore topology. Finally, the fluid-particle interactions obtained from CFD results show a larger variance in the angular particle packings.
Date Issued
2023-01-01
Date Acceptance
2021-05-19
Citation
Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics, 2023, 73 (1), pp.71-88
ISSN
0016-8505
Publisher
ICE Publishing
Start Page
71
End Page
88
Journal / Book Title
Geotechnique: international journal of soil mechanics
Volume
73
Issue
1
Identifier
https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jgeot.20.P.432
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-10-08