Modeling the 3D crack network and anisotropic permeability of saturated cracked soil

Cracks on a natural soil surface provide preferential pathways for water infiltration and contaminant solute transport. Before the mechanical property and permeability of cracked soil can be studied, a crack network model must first be established. Based on statistical analysis of crack geometry from field observations, a new method of representing a 3D crack network was developed. A horizontal plane of a crack network was derived using the Voronoi diagram. Each vertical crack was idealized as an inverted triangular prism. The 3D permeability tensor was determined by modeling the water flow through the crack network. A computer program was developed to generate a 3D crack network automatically and compute the permeability tensor of cracked soil at different depths. The model was verified by comparing the measured permeability and computed permeability of cracked soil. The results showed that the computed permeability was consistent with the measured permeability.