Grain Size Analysis and Permeametry for Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity in Engineered Porous Media

Abstract

AbstractGrain size analysis and permeametry are common methods for estimating the hydraulic conductivity (K) of porous media. It is well known that these methods have limited accuracy when they are used to characterize natural sediments. However, hydrogeological research has increasingly introduced technologies dependent on engineered porous media that may be less problematic because complex geologic structures are eliminated in the lab and field‐scale packings. The recently introduced Horizontal Reactive Media Treatment Wells (HRX® Wells), for in situ, passive remediation of groundwater is one such example. The HRX Well passively collects groundwater and directs it through a horizontal pipe packed with an engineered porous medium. In this project, grain size analysis was conducted for sand and sand‐iron mixtures to estimate K using the 16 algorithms provided in the HydrogeoSieveXL2.3.2 software. The results were compared to K determined by permeametry and a field‐scale column, 30 cm long and 25 cm in diameter, representing an HRX Well. The best comparability of K estimates from grain size analysis and permeametry were obtained using the USBR, Slichter, and Shepherd K estimation methods. These also showed good agreement between lab‐scale and field‐scale K estimations, with reproducibility within the range ±20%. This study shows that laboratory K estimations can be representative across various relevant scales, including the field‐scale, for engineered porous media. This finding extends to filter packs, and other engineered porous media design methods by emphasizing and demonstrating one case of accuracy in lab‐scale permeability estimation for field‐scale implementations.