Laboratory testing and numerical modelling of seepage in building materials
Laboratory testing and numerical modelling of seepage in building materials
This paper focuses on the importance of understanding and modelling water flow through concrete. To achieve this, the water retention curve (WRC) was determined for various concrete mixtures with different cement quantities and water-cement ratios. The pore system of concrete is complex and consists of open macropores and capillary pores, making it essential to use a bimodal function such as Fredlund and Xing (1994) bimodal model for WRC fitting. The theory of lateral shift was applied to estimate the wetting water retention curve from the drying WRC. The curves obtained are then used to calculate the permeability functions applying the Fredlund et al. (1994) model. To validate our results, finite element modelling of the standard test for watertightness was performed with Plaxis 3D, utilizing the calculated functions. The results of this study provide valuable information for investigating and modelling seepage through the pores of concrete, which is crucial for life-span analyses of underground structures such as hazardous waste storages.
M. Pap; Andras Mahler; Zsombor Illes; Salem Georges Nehme
18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)
E - Environment, water and energy
Contact Information
- Secretary General - Dr A M McNamara
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: +44 20 7040 8154
- City, University of London
- Northampton Square
- London EC1V 0HB. United Kingdom