Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory
Abstract The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) is one of the most important properties for evaluating moisture and gas migration in soil. However, the precise measurement of K in the laboratory often requires considerable time and economic costs. Currently, the most commonly used method to calc...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86855-6 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832585770131521536 |
|---|---|
| author | Qiang Liu Liang Guo Jiali Miao Xiangchao Qu Shujie Xiao |
| author_facet | Qiang Liu Liang Guo Jiali Miao Xiangchao Qu Shujie Xiao |
| author_sort | Qiang Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) is one of the most important properties for evaluating moisture and gas migration in soil. However, the precise measurement of K in the laboratory often requires considerable time and economic costs. Currently, the most commonly used method to calculate K is to obtain it from the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The void ratio e has a crucial influence on the variation in K. In this study, by combining two extended SWCC models (the Kwan model and the modified linear packing density model (MLPDM)) proposed by Liu et al. and two models (Model K S1 and Model K S2) for predicting the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K S ) of compacted quartz sand, two approaches (Approach I and Approach II) for estimating the K of compacted quartz sand were proposed. A series of laboratory experiments (constant head permeability tests and alternative simplified evaporation tests) were conducted to verify and evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the two approaches for predicting the K values of compacted quartz sand. For Approach I, the average RMSE was 6.31 × 10− 6. For Approach II, the average RMSE was 5.82 × 10−6. Both Approach I and Approach II provided accurate and reasonable K values for 20 compacted quartz sand samples. Therefore, Approach I and Approach II can be used to predict moisture and gas migration in compacted quartz sand. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4ad2a54996dc4a6fa9480ed561544ff1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-4ad2a54996dc4a6fa9480ed561544ff12025-01-26T12:30:20ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115112110.1038/s41598-025-86855-6Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theoryQiang Liu0Liang Guo1Jiali Miao2Xiangchao Qu3Shujie Xiao4College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and TechnologyAbstract The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (K) is one of the most important properties for evaluating moisture and gas migration in soil. However, the precise measurement of K in the laboratory often requires considerable time and economic costs. Currently, the most commonly used method to calculate K is to obtain it from the soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The void ratio e has a crucial influence on the variation in K. In this study, by combining two extended SWCC models (the Kwan model and the modified linear packing density model (MLPDM)) proposed by Liu et al. and two models (Model K S1 and Model K S2) for predicting the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K S ) of compacted quartz sand, two approaches (Approach I and Approach II) for estimating the K of compacted quartz sand were proposed. A series of laboratory experiments (constant head permeability tests and alternative simplified evaporation tests) were conducted to verify and evaluate the accuracy and applicability of the two approaches for predicting the K values of compacted quartz sand. For Approach I, the average RMSE was 6.31 × 10− 6. For Approach II, the average RMSE was 5.82 × 10−6. Both Approach I and Approach II provided accurate and reasonable K values for 20 compacted quartz sand samples. Therefore, Approach I and Approach II can be used to predict moisture and gas migration in compacted quartz sand.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86855-6Unsaturated hydraulic conductivitySoil–water characteristic curveHydraulic propertyCompacted quartz sand |
| spellingShingle | Qiang Liu Liang Guo Jiali Miao Xiangchao Qu Shujie Xiao Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory Scientific Reports Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity Soil–water characteristic curve Hydraulic property Compacted quartz sand |
| title | Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| title_full | Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| title_fullStr | Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| title_short | Approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| title_sort | approaches for estimating the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of compacted quartz sand via particle packing theory |
| topic | Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity Soil–water characteristic curve Hydraulic property Compacted quartz sand |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86855-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qiangliu approachesforestimatingtheunsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofcompactedquartzsandviaparticlepackingtheory AT liangguo approachesforestimatingtheunsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofcompactedquartzsandviaparticlepackingtheory AT jialimiao approachesforestimatingtheunsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofcompactedquartzsandviaparticlepackingtheory AT xiangchaoqu approachesforestimatingtheunsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofcompactedquartzsandviaparticlepackingtheory AT shujiexiao approachesforestimatingtheunsaturatedhydraulicconductivityofcompactedquartzsandviaparticlepackingtheory |