Abstract
Abstract. Hydraulic conductivity (K) is one of the significant soil characteristics in terms of flow movement and solute transport. It has been recognized that K is statistically related to the grain-size distribution. Numerous models have been developed to reveal the relationship between K and the grain-size distribution of soil, but most of these are inappropriate for fine-grained media. Therefore, a new empirical model for estimating K of low permeability media was proposed in this study. In total, the values of K of 30 soil samples collected in the Jiangning District of Nanjing were measured using the single-ring infiltrometer method. The new model was developed using the percentages of sand, silt and clay-sized particles, and the first and the second rank moment of the grain-size through the moment method as predictor variables. Multivariate nonlinear regression analysis yielded a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.75, indicating that this empirical model seems to provide a new approach for the indirect determination of hydraulic conductivity of low permeability media.
Highlights
The hydraulic conductivity (K) of soil is of great significance in hydrogeology
The objective of this paper is to develop a new model which can estimate K of fine media quickly and using unique representations of the grain-size distribution of soils
The new model was developed using the percentages of sand (Sa), silt (Si) and clay (C) sized particles, and the first and the second rank moment of the grain-size through the moment method as predictor variables
Summary
Hydrogeologists have searched for reliable techniques to determine the K of soils, for better groundwater development, management and conservation. Many different techniques have been presented, including field methods, laboratory methods and empirical formulae. Precise estimation of K by field techniques is limited by the lack of accurate information of the aquifer geometry and hydraulic boundaries and always prohibited by the high cost for the construction of observation wells (Chen et al 2010). Numerous models estimating K from empirical formulae based on grain-size distribution, have been developed and used to overcome these problems. Grain-size methods are less expensive and do not depend on the geometry and hydraulic boundaries of the aquifer. Groundwater professionals have tried for decades to reveal the correlation between K and the grain-size distribution of soil. The tasks appear rather straight forward, but it is found that this correlation is not established (Pinder and Celia 2006)
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