Abstract
Desiccation and freeze-thaw of compacted clay barriers may result in cracks that serve as preferential flow paths. A series of infiltration tests on compacted kaolin samples was conducted to explore the importance of preferential flow paths during infiltration, and their effect on the infiltration rate. Clod size at the time of compaction was found to have a strong influence on both the rate and depth of infiltration. We suggest that flow and infiltration through fractured clay may be described in terms of two stages: an initial dynamic stage in which the infiltration rate is initially high but decreases rapidly due to the clay swelling and closing fractures, and a steady-state stage usually characterized by ksat, during which the infiltration rate is relatively constant. Our study has shown that cracks do not fully heal upon hydration and readily reopen during subsequent dehydration. Infiltration rates during the dynamic stage of infiltration, while cracks are closing, are orders of magnitude higher than the steady-state rate used to estimate ksat, for barrier evaluation.
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