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Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering
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Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 3476

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Chaofeng Zeng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China
Interests: hydrogeology; multi-aquifers; groundwater control; land subsidence; soil-water-structure interaction; prevention of groundwater-related disaster; numerical modeling; physical simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In geotechnical engineering, the groundwater seepage characteristic is an important role determining the difficulty of the construction; the improper groundwater control would usually lead to engineering accident. For example, the excessive withdrawal of groundwater would incur apparent regional land subsidence; the groundwater level rise during rainy season would increase the buoyance applying on the basement which further worsens the stress condition of the structure; the rainfall infiltration and water level fluctuation would greatly affect the slope stability; the dissipation rate of pore-water pressure during soil improvement would largely influence the consolidation effect. In a word, the groundwater control during geotechnical engineering need be paid more attention.

In this Special Issue, we welcome the original research addressing the various issues related to the groundwater control in all the aspects of geotechnical engineering. Numerical and physical modellings, optimization algorithm and analytical solution, and field investigation or remote sensing technology are all welcomed to be adopted to solve the related problems.

In the following, we list some potential topics to guide the submission, while one should note that the involved topics are not limited to those.

  • Groundwater control in deep excavation and underground engineering
  • Groundwater-related issues in foundation engineering
  • Groundwater control in slope engineering and groundwater-induced geological hazards
  • Groundwater issues in soil improvement or ground treatment
  • Groundwater control in environmental geotechnical engineering and solid waste disposal
  • Groundwater-related issues in soil dynamics and earthquake geotechnical engineering

Dr. Chaofeng Zeng
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • groundwater control
  • geotechnical engineering
  • dewatering
  • deep excavation
  • tunnelling
  • land subsidence
  • slope engineering
  • foundation engineering
  • pore water pressure

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4280 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Microstructural Changes in Bentonite During Hydration: A Micro-CT Investigation
by Kui Liu, Jing Hu, Quanchang Zhang and Chaofeng Zeng
Water 2025, 17(9), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17091348 - 30 Apr 2025
Abstract
Bentonite is widely used as an engineering barrier in radioactive waste disposal. This study examined the hydromechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of a bentonite mixture under controlled hydration, utilizing real-time X-ray micro-CT imaging to capture transitions from granular to dense homogeneous states. The [...] Read more.
Bentonite is widely used as an engineering barrier in radioactive waste disposal. This study examined the hydromechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of a bentonite mixture under controlled hydration, utilizing real-time X-ray micro-CT imaging to capture transitions from granular to dense homogeneous states. The results demonstrated that, during the early stages of hydration, bentonite pellets experienced substantial swelling, filling inter-pellet voids and transforming from a loosely packed granular structure to a compact, homogeneous matrix. This transformation significantly reduced the porosity from an initial value of 20% to below 0.1% after 60 days, thereby substantially lowering the material’s permeability. Particle displacement analysis, employing digital image correlation techniques, revealed axial displacements of up to 2.6 mm and radial displacements of up to 0.9 mm, highlighting pronounced void closure and structural reorganization. The study also examined the influence of initial dry density heterogeneities on swelling pressure and permeability, providing insights for optimizing barrier design. The findings affirm that hydrated bentonite serves as a highly effective low-permeability barrier for sealing deep geological repositories. Its capacity for environmental adaptation, demonstrated through self-healing and densification, further reinforces its suitability for critical and long-term engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering)
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26 pages, 12476 KiB  
Article
Study on Deformation and Pore Water Pressure Characteristics of Diesel-Contaminated Soil After Thermal Desorption
by Yeyang Chun, Zonghui Liu, Tenglong Liang, Dong Zhou and Dongpo Su
Water 2024, 16(23), 3433; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16233433 - 28 Nov 2024
Viewed by 842
Abstract
The deformation characteristics of soil after thermal desorption are crucial for the evaluation of engineering properties, but the evolution mechanism is currently unclear. This study focuses on the thermal desorption of contaminated soil, conducting Geo-dynamic Systems consolidation-rebound tests to reveal the evolution mechanism [...] Read more.
The deformation characteristics of soil after thermal desorption are crucial for the evaluation of engineering properties, but the evolution mechanism is currently unclear. This study focuses on the thermal desorption of contaminated soil, conducting Geo-dynamic Systems consolidation-rebound tests to reveal the evolution mechanism of consolidation–rebound deformation and pore pressure characteristics, and exploring the evolution mechanism through pore structure, particle size distribution, and Cation Exchange Capacity tests. Results show that the consolidation characteristics of uncontaminated soil increase and then decrease with heating temperature, with 400 °C as a turning point. In contrast, the consolidation deformation of contaminated soil continues to decrease. The vertical deformation of the soil in the pre/early consolidation stage is greater before 400 °C, while after 400 °C, the deformation continues to increase with consolidation pressure, and higher heating temperatures enhance the soil’s rebound deformation ability. Pore water pressure changes in two stages, with temperature ranges of 100–300 °C and 300–600 °C, and with increasing heating temperature, the characteristics of pore pressure change from clay to sand. Mechanism tests reveal that inter-aggregate pores affect initial deformation, while intra-aggregate pores affect later deformation, both showing a positive correlation. Aggregate decomposition increases initial deformation capacity at 100–400 °C while melting body fragmentation increases later deformation capacity at 500–600 °C. CEC decreases with increasing heating temperature, reducing inter-particle resistance and increasing soil deformation capacity. Particle size distribution and Cation Exchange Capacity impact consolidation–rebound pore pressure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering)
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14 pages, 5818 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Shear Strength of Weakly Consolidated Mudstone in Water-Diversion Tunnels Through Artificial Ground-Freezing Techniques: An Experimental and Theoretical Study
by Hongmei Quan, Wenzhi Zhang, Junjie Li, Xiaoxue Ru, Jingbo Zhou and Ran An
Water 2024, 16(21), 3095; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16213095 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 897
Abstract
The utilization of artificial ground-freezing techniques is increasingly prevalent in the construction of water-diversion tunnels. The inadequate mechanical properties of weakly consolidated mudstone (WCM) pose significant challenges for tunneling construction. In this study, a series of triaxial shear tests were conducted on frozen [...] Read more.
The utilization of artificial ground-freezing techniques is increasingly prevalent in the construction of water-diversion tunnels. The inadequate mechanical properties of weakly consolidated mudstone (WCM) pose significant challenges for tunneling construction. In this study, a series of triaxial shear tests were conducted on frozen specimens of WCM to elucidate its shear strength characteristics. The experiment involved four freezing temperatures (0, −5, −10, and −20 °C) and four confining pressures (1, 2, 3, and 4 MPa). The results indicate that the shear failure mode of the WCM exhibits distinct shear zone failure characteristics under artificial freezing conditions, particularly prominent in the lower temperature environments. As the freezing temperature gradually decreases, there is a substantial increase of over 200% in the shear strength of frozen specimens, accompanied by a corresponding decrease in yield strain. Furthermore, the cohesion and internal friction angle of frozen WCM increase as the freezing temperature decreases, following a complex exponential function relationship rather than a linear one. As the freezing temperature decreases from 0 °C to −20 °C, there is an increase in cohesion and internal friction angle from 1012 kPa to 1425 kPa, accompanied by a rise in the internal friction angle from 43.2° to 58.1°. Notably, the application of confining pressure exerts a pronounced influence on the shear strength of frozen WCM, with elevated levels of confining pressure resulting in a substantial augmentation of the shear strength. The failure mode of frozen WCM is significantly influenced by freezing temperatures. At low temperatures, the specimen of mudstone exhibits a shear failure behavior, while at high temperatures, it predominantly demonstrates expansion failure. This phenomenon can be attributed to the increased brittleness of specimens caused by ice crystals, rendering it more susceptible to brittle failure under shearing forces. These findings signify an enhancement in the mechanical behavior of WCM within the tunnel sidewall under artificial freezing conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering)
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20 pages, 4143 KiB  
Article
A Strain-Controlled Finite Strain Model for CRD Consolidation of Saturated Clays Considering Non-Linear Compression and Permeability Relationships
by Weiyu Wang, Lijun Ke and Yaotian Gu
Water 2024, 16(19), 2858; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16192858 - 9 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 993
Abstract
Consolidation is the combined phenomenon of the compression and groundwater seepage of clay. Accurate evaluation of the consolidation characteristic is essential for the design, construction, and long-term stability of geotechnical structures. In this study, a strain-controlled non-linear finite strain model for constant rate-of-deformation [...] Read more.
Consolidation is the combined phenomenon of the compression and groundwater seepage of clay. Accurate evaluation of the consolidation characteristic is essential for the design, construction, and long-term stability of geotechnical structures. In this study, a strain-controlled non-linear finite strain model for constant rate-of-deformation (CRD) consolidation was developed for quickly and reliably predicting the consolidation behavior of clay soils. The model can account for any form of non-linear compression and permeability relationships, thus considering variations in the coefficient of consolidation. Being strain-controlled, it overcomes the limitations of stress-controlled models which require complex numerical iteration. The validity and accuracy of this model were verified through rigorous comparisons with both numerical simulations and experimental data. For normally consolidated soils, a non-linear e-lgσ′compression model was used instead of a linear compression model. For overconsolidated soils, the Harris function compression model was determined to be recommended to overcome the discontinuities in total stress and pore pressure caused by the traditional piecewise e-lgσ′ model. It was also found that determining the steady state of consolidation for normally consolidated soils should use the non-linear method, while the linear method is suggested to be adopted for overconsolidated soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Groundwater Control in Geotechnical Engineering)
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