کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
4577070 | 1629996 | 2012 | 6 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
SummaryClay rock formations, and compacted clay (e.g., bentonite) used as backfill within disposal drifts, have been considered as natural and engineered barriers, respectively, for isolating high-level nuclear wastes in mined geologic repositories. Accurately modeling unsaturated flow in those clay materials is important for assessing the performance of a geological repository. While the non-Darcian behavior of water flow in clay materials has been demonstrated in the literature, a systematic study of modeling unsaturated non-Darcian flow is still lacking. Based on a hypothesis that pore water in clay becomes non-Newtonian as a result of water–clay interaction, we propose new constitutive relationships for unsaturated flow, including a relationship between water flux and hydraulic gradient and those among capillary pressure, water saturation, and hydraulic conductivity. An evaluation based on a set of laboratory experimental observations supports the usefulness of the proposed relationships. More experimental studies are desirable for further confirming the non-Newtonian water flow behavior in clay materials and evaluating the proposed relationships.
► Pore water in clay may become non-Newtonian as a result of water–clay interaction.
► We propose constitutive relationships for unsaturated flow of non-Newtonian fluids.
► Experimental observations support the usefulness of our results.
Journal: Journal of Hydrology - Volumes 430–431, 2 April 2012, Pages 173–178