Search Results (5)

Understanding the behavior of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) in urban subsurface environments is essential to developing effective pollution control strategies, designing remediation systems, and managing waste and resources sustainably. Oil leakage from urban industrial facilities, underground pipelines, and fueling systems often leads to contamination that is challenging to characterize due to complex soil structures, limited access beneath densely built infrastructure, and dynamic groundwater conditions. In this study, we integrate a large-scale soil tank experiment with multiphase flow simulations to elucidate LNAPL distribution mechanisms under fluctuating groundwater conditions. A 2.4-m-by-2.4-m-by-0.6-m soil tank was used to visualize oil movement with high-resolution multispectral imaging, enabling a quantitative evaluation of saturation distribution over time. The results showed that a rapid rise in groundwater can trap 60–70% of the high-saturation LNAPL below the water table. In contrast, a subsequent slow rise leaves 10–20% residual saturation within pore spaces. These results suggest that vertical redistribution caused by groundwater oscillation significantly increases residual contamination, which cannot be evaluated using static groundwater assumptions. Comparisons with a commonly used NAPL simulator revealed that conventional models overestimate lateral spreading and underestimate trapped residual oil, thus highlighting the need for improved constitutive models and numerical schemes that can capture sharp saturation fronts. These results emphasize that an accurate assessment of LNAPL contamination in urban settings requires an explicit consideration of groundwater fluctuation and dynamic multiphase interactions. Insights from this study support rational monitoring network design, reduce uncertainty in remediation planning, and contribute to sustainable urban environmental management by improving risk evaluation and preventing the long-term spread of pollution. Full article

In construction, closely spaced footings cause stress interactions that impact bearing capacity, settlement, and stability. This study experimentally evaluates the role of sheet pile walls (SPWs) in improving the performance of two adjacent strip footings—an existing footing and a newly placed footing—on sandy soil. The influence of SPW penetration depth (L_s) and center-to-center spacing between footings (X) on settlement and bearing resistance under vertical loads was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a large-scale soil tank (330 × 30 cm, depth 210 cm), with X ranging from 300 mm to 1000 mm and SPW lengths varying from 0 mm to 1500 mm. The results show that SPWs significantly enhance foundation performance by reducing settlement and increasing bearing capacity. When L_s/B = 6, the settlement of the new footing (F₁) decreases by 48%, while the existing footing (F₂) sees reductions of 47%, 67%, and 77% at L_s/B = 3, 4, and 5, respectively, under 500 kN/m² stress. The bearing capacity of F1 increases by 53% when X = 300 mm, demonstrating strong interference effects. Conversely, the F₂ settlement increases as X decreases, with a 96% rise at X = 300 mm, but it stabilizes at L_s/B = 5. SPWs also shift failure from general shear to punching shear, modifying soil–structure interaction. These findings highlight the effectiveness of SPWs in mitigating settlement, enhancing load-bearing capacity, and optimizing foundation design in closely spaced footing systems. The results suggest that an SPW length-to-footing width ratio (L_s/B) between 4 and 5 is optimal for minimizing settlement and improving stability, with only a slight difference in effectiveness between these two ratios. Full article

When the soil at the plant roots is poorly ventilated due to few pores, the root system will grow short and shallow, leading to poor growth. In this paper, we developed a shockwave soil-loosening device. It can first drill a hollow drill bit containing multi-directional holes into the soil near the roots of the crops and then generate high-pressure gas to impact the soil outside the drill bit to increase the soil pores. Therefore, this can quickly improve soil aeration. We conducted numerical simulations of shockwave loosening to explore how 3.4 atm shockwaves are emitted from the drill bit’s porous nozzles and analyze the behavior and efficiency of shockwave loosening. We also performed visual observation experiments of shockwave multi-directional impact in a transparent acrylic water tank. Furthermore, we used eight pressure sensors to automatically measure the range of shockwave impact and found that when the storage tank volume was 5000 cm³, we could achieve a soil loosening range of 30 cm. Finally, this shockwave-loosening mechanism ensures that the soil surface will not be damaged during the loosening process, thus avoiding large-scale tillage disturbance of the soil. This will reduce carbon emissions stored in soil and released into the atmosphere. Full article

Zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) are becoming one of the most widely recommended nanomaterials for soil and groundwater remediation. However, when nZVI are injected in the groundwater flow, the behavior (mobility, dispersion, distribution) is practically unknown. This fact generally results in the use of enormous quantities of them at the field scale. The uncertainties are on the effective volumes reached from the plume of nZVI because their tendency to aggregate and their weight can cause their settling and deposition. So, the mobility of nanoparticles is a real issue, which can often lead to inefficient or expensive soil remediation. Furthermore, there is another aspect that must be considered: the fate of these nZVI in the groundwater and their possible impact on the subsoil environment. All these considerations have led us to propose an application of nZVI simulating the permeation technique through a laboratory experience, finalized to have a better, or even simpler description of their real behavior when injected in a flow in the subsoil. A two-dimensional laboratory-scale tank was used to study the dispersion and transport of nZVI. A nZVI solution, with a concentration equal to 4.54 g/L, was injected into glass beads, utilized as porous medium. The laboratory experiment included a digital camera to acquire the images. The images were then used for calibrating a numerical model. The results of the mass balance confirm the validity of the proposed numerical model, obtaining values of velocity (5.41 × 10⁻³ m/s) and mass (1.9 g) of the nZVI of the same order of those from the experimental tests. Several information were inferred from both experimental and numerical tests. Both demonstrate that nZVI plume does not behave as a solute dissolved in water, but as a mass showing its own mobility ruled mainly from the buoyancy force. A simple simulation of a tracer input and a nZVI plume are compared to evidence the large differences between their evolution in time and space. This means that commercial numerical models, if not corrected, cannot furnish a real forecast of the volume of influence of the injected nZVI. Further deductions can be found from the images and confirmed by means the numerical model where the detachment effect is much smaller than the attachment one (ratio k_d/k_a = 0.001). From what is reported, it is worthwhile to pay attention on the localization of the contaminants source/plume to reach an effective treatment and it is important to go further in the improvement of solution for the limiting the nanoparticles aggregation phenomenon. Full article

Soil pipes are commonly found in landslide scarps, and it has been suggested that build-up of pore water pressure due to clogged soil pipes influences landslide initiation. Several researchers have also suggested that entrapped air in the soil layer increases the pore water pressure. We carried out bench-scale model experiments to investigate the influence of soil pipes and entrapped air on the build-up of pore water pressure. We installed a water supply system consisting of an artificial rainfall simulator, and used a water supply tank to supply water to the model slope and artificial pipe. We used two types of artificial pipe: A straight pipe, and a confluence of three pipes. Furthermore, we placed a layer of silica sand on top of the model slope to investigate the effect of entrapped air in the soil layer on the build-up of pore water pressure. Silica sand is finer than the sand that we used for the bulk of the model slope. Our results indicate that, although artificial pipes decrease the pore water pressure when the amount of water supplied was smaller than the pipe drainage capacity, the pore water pressure increased when the water supply was too large for the artificial pipe to drain. In particular, the confluence of pipes increased the pore water pressure because the water supply exceeded the drainage capacity. The results also indicate that entrapped air increases the pore water pressure in the area with relatively low drainage capacity, too. Based on these results, we found that although soil pipes can drain a certain amount of water from a soil layer, they can also increase the pore water pressure, and destabilize slopes. Furthermore, entrapped air enhances the trend that the pore water pressure can increase in the area with relatively low drainage capacity, as pore water pressure increases when too much water is supplied, and the artificial pipe cannot drain all of it. Full article