Evaluation of the internal stability of well-graded silty sand through the long-term seepage test

Abstract Suffusion is the phenomenon responsible for internal erosion, and is the process by which finer soil particles are moved through the constrictions between the larger soil particles by seepage forces. Generally, gap-graded soil is known to be susceptible to suffusion. Meanwhile, suffusion of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hee-Jun Lee, In-Hyun Kim, Choong-Ki Chung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2021-08-01
Series:International Journal of Geo-Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-021-00151-6
Description
Summary:Abstract Suffusion is the phenomenon responsible for internal erosion, and is the process by which finer soil particles are moved through the constrictions between the larger soil particles by seepage forces. Generally, gap-graded soil is known to be susceptible to suffusion. Meanwhile, suffusion of well-graded silty sand and the resulting soil behavior are not well understood. Moreover, the previous researches on laboratory suffusion tests focused on the study of the critical hydraulic gradient, which triggers the internal instability of the soils within a short period of time. Therefore, in this study, long-term suffusion tests were conducted on well-graded silty sand under a hydraulic gradient lower than the critical value. As a result, abrupt increases in permeability and amount of soil discharged were observed due to the progressive migration of the soil particles, resulting in suffusion even at a relatively low hydraulic gradient.
ISSN:2092-9196
2198-2783