Abstract：The performance evaluation of clay liners for seepage prevention and isolation is widely applied in engineering fields, including municipal solid waste landfills, hazardous waste landfills, and remediation of contaminated sites. However, most existing studies have only conducted simple coupling analyses based on 2 to 3 physical processes among the Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) multi-physics framework, often neglecting the nonlinear variations of several important parameters in their models. To investigate the mutual feedback coupling mechanisms of the THMC multi-physics involved in clay liners, this study adopted a large-strain nonlinear consolidation model. This model incorporates the effects of chemical osmotic pressure induced by contaminant transport on soil consolidation, as well as the impacts of temperature rise on the physical-mechanical properties of soils and contaminant transport characteristics. A comprehensive large-strain nonlinear model for heat transfer, consolidation, and contaminant transport was established within the context of THMC multi-physics mutual coupling, along with its numerical solution. The correctness and applicability of the proposed coupling model were verified by comparing contaminant transport characteristics and soil consolidation settlement under specific scenarios. Based on this analysis, the mutual feedback coupling mechanisms and influencing factors among the THMC multi-physics in clay liners were thoroughly discussed. The results indicate that the introduction of coupling effects from temperature and chemical interactions on consolidation and contaminant transport accelerates soil settlement rates, increases peak settlement, and exacerbates the “over-consolidation” phenomenon caused by chemical loads. Additionally, the incorporation of thermal dynamics not only accelerates the dissipation of excess pore water pressure but also enhances the contaminant transport rate, with the effects becoming more pronounced over time. Furthermore, chemical osmotic pressure can induce negative excess pore water pressure, resulting in the overall excess pore water pressure of the soil remaining negative even during the long-term consolidation stage, which complicates complete dissipation post-consolidation. Finally, the model was applied to an unregulated landfill, demonstrating that the established model possesses strong engineering applicability.
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2026, Vol. 45 
