|
Abstract The relative hydraulic conductivity is indispensable for the seepage flow analysis in unsaturated soils. The Mualem statistical model is widely used to determine this parameter. With the assumption of rigid pore structures，however，the Mualem model is not suitable for describing the relative hydraulic conductivity in deformable soils. On the basis of a newly developed soil-water characteristic curve model for deformable soils developed by the authors，a modified Mualem model was presented，in which the mean radius of pores completely filled by water in a given degree of saturation was adopted to account for the effects of water content and soil deformation on the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. Experimental data of four types of soils were used to evaluate the modified model. Comparing to the original model，it is indicated that the root mean square error between the experimental measurements and model predictions was reduced by 27%. This more reliable theoretical model can be used for better understanding the seepage flow and coupled hydro-mechanical processes in unsaturated soils.
|
|
Received: 11 January 2013
|
|
|
|
2013, Vol. 32 
