Effects of Biochar Additions on Soil Hydraulic Properties

Dear Colleagues,

Hydraulic properties of soils are fundamental parameters in geotechnical engineering, directly controlling seepage, consolidation, slope stability, earth structure performance, and the long-term serviceability of geotechnical infrastructure. In recent years, biochar has emerged as a novel geomaterial amendment with the potential to modify soil fabric, pore network connectivity, and interparticle interactions, thereby influencing permeability, water retention, and unsaturated flow behavior. While biochar has been widely studied in agronomic and environmental contexts, its implications for geotechnical applications remain insufficiently explored and often lack a rigorous mechanics-based interpretation.

This Special Issue aims to advance a geotechnical engineering-oriented understanding of the effects of biochar additions on soil hydraulic properties. We welcome contributions that investigate biochar-modified soils from the perspectives of soil mechanics, unsaturated soil theory, and multi-physical coupling. Topics include, but are not limited to, changes in saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, soil–water characteristic curves, pore structure evolution, fabric anisotropy, consolidation–seepage interaction, and hydro-mechanical coupling under loading, wetting–drying cycles, or environmental aging. Experimental, numerical, and theoretical studies relevant to earthworks, liners, barriers, slopes, and ground improvement are particularly encouraged. This Special Issue seeks to clarify mechanisms, establish engineering-relevant parameters, and assess the feasibility and limitations of biochar in geotechnical practice.

Dr. Yang Chen
Guest Editor

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