Unsaturated water flow across soil aggregate contacts

Three-dimensional distribution of water and air in soil pores: Comparison of two-phase two-relaxation-times lattice-Boltzmann and morphological model outputs with synchrotron X-ray computed tomography data

“…Tippkötter et al [47] adopt a similar focus, in undisturbed soil samples, and are able with a table-top X-ray CT scanner to visualize the presence of water films coating the inner surfaces of meso-and macropores. These data obtained by Carminati et al [11] and Tippkötter et al [47], or equivalent CT data obtained in other soils, could in principle be used to assess whether existing pore-scale models of water distribution in soils are adequate.…”

“…For example, Brusseau et al [10] and Culligan et al [12] show air-water interfaces in 3D computed 2 tomography (CT) images of repacked sand and glass beads, respectively, at a resolution of about 12 µm using synchrotron X-ray CT. More recently, Andrew et al [4] show detailed air-water interfaces and are able to successfully measure contact angle of CO 2 -brine interfaces onto the solid surface of limestone at a small resolution of 2 µm. Working with a real soil material, Carminati et al [11] adopt yet another approach, in that they focus on the water that occupies part of the volume in larger pores, located between aggregates. They are able under these conditions to clearly observe pendular rings of water between two clayloam soil aggregates at a resolution close to 6 µm.…”

Constitutive modeling of unsaturated aggregated soils

“…In case of aggregated soils with clear bi-modal water retention curve, s 1 e might be also estimated from the water retention tests with small suction increments on the samples of aggregated soil [33]. Based on the work of Carminati [52] using neutron radiography, we have here s 1 e = 50 kPa. Suction-controlled oedometer or isotropic compression then gives γ s for the evolution of apparent preconsolidation pressures with suction in reconstituted soils.…”

A Model for Flow and Deformation in Unsaturated Swelling Porous Media

“…When two or more fluid phases are present in the pores, the material is called unsaturated. In many practical applications, swelling systems can be unsaturated, e.g., in the case of drying of wood and food materials (Datta 2007;Perre and Turner 1999), and transport in soils (Carminati et al 2008;Purandara et al 2008). The swelling behavior of a porous medium (saturated or unsaturated) results from interactions at different spatial scales, and therefore, researchers have developed multiscale thermomechanical models to study heat and mass transport in multiphase swelling porous systems (Achanta 1995;Bennethum and Cushman 1996b;Murad et al 1995;Murad and Cushman 1996, 2000Bennethum et al 2000;Schrefler 2002;Singh et al 2003a,b;Weinstein et al 2008).…”