Article

Transportation Research Record

2018, Vol. 2672(52) 108–117
Ó National Academy of Sciences:
Method for Quick Prediction of Hydraulic Transportation Research Board 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
Conductivity and Soil-Water Retention sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0361198118798486

of Unsaturated Soils journals.sagepub.com/home/trr

Shaoyang Dong1, Yuan Guo1, and Xiong (Bill) Yu1,2

Abstract
Hydraulic conductivity and soil-water retention are two critical soil properties describing the fluid flow in unsaturated soils.
Existing experimental procedures tend to be time consuming and labor intensive. This paper describes a heuristic approach
that combines a limited number of experimental measurements with a computational model with random finite element to
significantly accelerate the process. A microstructure-based model is established to describe unsaturated soils with distribu-
tion of phases based on their respective volumetric contents. The model is converted into a finite element model, in which
the intrinsic hydraulic properties of each phase (soil particle, water, and air) are applied based on the microscopic structures.
The bulk hydraulic properties are then determined based on discharge rate using Darcy’s law. The intrinsic permeability of
each phase of soil is first calibrated from soil measured under dry and saturated conditions, which is then used to predict the
hydraulic conductivities at different extents of saturation. The results match the experimental data closely. Mualem’s equation
is applied to fit the pore size parameter based on the hydraulic conductivity. From these, the soil-water characteristic curve
is predicted from van Genuchten’s equation. The simulation results are compared with the experimental results from docu-
mented studies, and excellent agreements were observed. Overall, this study provides a new modeling-based approach to
predict the hydraulic conductivity function and soil-water characteristic curve of unsaturated soils based on measurement at
complete dry or completely saturated conditions. An efficient way to measure these critical unsaturated soil properties will
be of benefit in introducing unsaturated soil mechanics into engineering practice.

Hydraulic conductivity, or permeability, is a critical soil
property describing the hydraulic behavior of unsatu-
rated soils, and it is related to the water content and pore
size of the soil (1, 2). In the microstructural view, hydrau-
lic conductivity depends on the structure of the soil skele-
ton, the connectedness of the pore space, and in essence,
the intrinsic permeability of each phase of the unsatu-
rated soil. The hydraulic conductivity of different type of
soils (clay, silt, sand) varies within a wide range of several
orders of magnitudes. It is challenging to determine the
hydraulic conductivity because of the great variation in
mineral composition and the complex texture of the soil.
The wide range in hydraulic conductivity and great varia-
tion in its composition bring obstacles in analyzing
hydraulic problems in geotechnical engineering.
Empirical and experimental methods are two broad
method types to determine the hydraulic conductivity of
unsaturated soils. The empirical approach relates the
hydraulic conductivity with water content (3), particle
size distributions (1), and soil texture. Table 1 lists the
representative empirical equations for the unsaturated
hydraulic conductivity.
The empirical equations can be applied in engineering
practice when the experimental data are available for the
relationship between the hydraulic conductivity and
volumetric water content (or degree of saturation).
Darcy’s law is commonly used to determine the hydrau-
lic conductivity from hydraulic experiments. The experi-
mental approach is classified into two categories: one is
the laboratory tests such as the transient-flow test, infil-
tration column tests, and deformation test (9, 10); the
other includes field tests such as small-scale field tests
using observations of the water level in cavities in the
soil, and large-scale field tests such as pump tests in
wells. The experimental approach to determine the
hydraulic conductivity has the advantages of being
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, OH
2
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Case
Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Corresponding Author:
Address correspondence to Xiong (Bill) Yu: xiong.yu@case.edu
Dong and Yu 109

Table 1. A Few Representative Empirical Equations for the Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity (k)

Equationy Reference

k = aub Gardner (4)

k = ks ðu=us Þn Campbell (5)
k = ks exp½aðu  us Þ Davidson et al. (6)
k = ks ½ðu  ur Þ=ðus  ur Þ3:5 Averjanov (7)
S  Sr Mualem (8)
k = ks Se 1=2 ½1  Se (Se n=(1n)  1)(n1)=n 2 and Se =
1  Sr

Note: y ks = the saturated hydraulic conductivity; u = the volumetric water content; us = the saturated volumetric water content; n = the pore size
parameter; a, b and a = the fitting parameter; ur = the residual volumetric water content; Se = the effective degree of saturation; and Sr = the residual
saturation.

reliable and accurate; however, it is time consuming and
expensive to conduct these hydraulic experiments.
The theoretical basis for the hydraulic conductivity
function (HCF) is shown by Fredlund et al. (11). It is
proven that the HCF can be integrated from the soil-
water characteristic curve (SWCC). The SWCC, or the
soil-water retention curve, is another critical unsaturated
soil property describing the relationship between matric
suction and moisture content. The experimental
approach to determine the SWCC generally includes
thermocouple psychrometry and filter paper methods
(12, 13). Although these methods are commonly used in
practice, they have the limitations of being labor inten-
sive, time consuming and not reliable for a high suction
range (over 100,000 kPa). Empirical equations for the
SWCC curve are proposed by van Genuchten (14) and
Fredlund and Xing (15). The fitting parameters in the
equations need to be determined through laboratory or
field testing.
The hydraulic properties of soil are quite sensitive to
design parameters. These parameters are randomly dis-
tributed throughout the soil sample because of the com-
plex geological process. This random process can be
simulated by the random finite element method (RFEM)
(16, 17). The parameters include Young’s modulus,
Poisson’s ratio, density, permeability, and a variety of
other parameters (18–20). The RFEM is an extension of
the traditional finite element method that adds random-
ness to material properties. Griffiths and Fenton mod-
eled soil as a spatially random medium and represented
the soil’s permeability as a stochastic field to investigate
the seepage beneath water retaining structures (21, 22).
In the microstructural view, unsaturated soil is a
three-phase material that includes soil particles, water,
and air, arranged randomly as a result of complex geolo-
gical processes (23). Researchers have built a microstruc-
tural model for soil (24, 25). Tracy and Helliwell
obtained the structure of soil by using X-ray computed
tomography images (26, 27). Zhang built 3D digital
images of porous rock with porosity properties and
mineral contents to study the elastic properties of the
Longmaxi shale (28). The microstructure extracted from
the high-resolution images provides a foundation for
building multiscale, that is, micro-scale or pore-scale,
models of soil samples.
In this research, a microstructure-based model is devel-
oped in Matlab to describe the unsaturated soil with dis-
tribution of phases based on their respective volumetric
contents. The Matlab model is converted into a finite ele-
ment model. The hydraulic and mechanical properties of
each soil phase (soil particle, water, and air) are applied
based on the microscopic structures. The flow of moisture
is described with the Darcy’s law (Equation 1):
kj
q=  rp ð1Þ
m
where the subscript j denotes different phases of the por-
omaterial; p is the pore-water pressure; kj is the intrinsic
permeability; m is the dynamic viscosity and q is the flux.
This paper aims to provide a new method to provide
quick estimation of the hydraulic conductivity and soil-
water characteristics curve of unsaturated soils. This new
method includes a phase-coded microstructure-based
RFEM model and calibration experiments conducted at
completely dry and saturated conditions. These calibra-
tion experiments allow determination of the transport
properties of individual phases, and account for the
effects of phase interactions. By use of the RFEM and
calibrated parameters for individual phase, the bulk
hydraulic conductivities at different degrees of saturation
are predicted. Comparison of experimental data shows
that the results of hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated
soils predicted by this new approach match very well
with the experimental data. The approach is further
extended to estimate the SWCC of unsaturated soils and
demonstrates promising results.
Microstructure-Based Model Building
The mechanical and hydraulic properties of soil speci-
mens (Denver claystone, BALT silt, Hopi silt, and
110
Table 2. Hydromechanical Parameters Deduced from Transient-
Flow Test
Soil n ks (m/s) Porosity
Denver claystone 1.40 8.58E-9 0.55
BALT silt 1.38 1E-6 0.47
Hopi silt 1.70 3E-8 0.48
Ottawa sand 6.00 2.56E-5 0.38
Ottawa sand) are referenced from the literature (10), and
their parameters are listed in Table 2.
To simulate the microstructure of unsaturated soils,
first the volumetric content of each phase is calculated
from their porosity and specific gravity. The next step is
to generate a p 3 q matrix in Matlab. To simplify the
model, for soils with finer particles such as clay and silt,
the solid particles are assumed to have the same dia-
meters. For the dimension of the matrix, p is equal to the
height of the soil specimens divided by the diameter of
the soil particle, and q is equal to the radius of the soil
specimens divided by the diameter of the soil particle.
Thus, p 3 q equals the total number of elements in the
2D soil model image. Each element in the matrix is
assigned with a value to represent a particular phase of
the soil specimens. Three different grayscale numbers (0,
0.5, and 1) are assigned to represent different phases (soil
particles, water, and air) within the soil specimens. These
numbers are randomly assigned, and their probability of
occurrence is equal to the volumetric fraction of each
phase. The final step is to generate an image from the
matrix in Matlab. Each pixel of the image represents
each element in the matrix, and the color in the pixel cor-
responds to the number in the element. Three different
colors (black [0], gray [0.5], and white [1]) represent the
soil particles, water, and air, respectively (Figure 1). For
Figure 1. The enlarged image of the 2D unsaturated clay model generated in Matlab (left), and the corresponding image converted into
COMSOL (right).
Transportation Research Record 2672(52)
sand, the image in the Matlab is generated based on the
particle size distribution of the sand (Figure 2).
The microstructure image is imported to COMSOL
and material properties are assigned based on the color
scale of the image. Figures 3 shows the 2D silt images at
different volumetric water content after conversion from
Matlab to COMSOL model.
Hydraulic Conductivity Simulation
With the microstructure-based RFEM model, the
hydraulic parameters can be assigned to each pixel based
on the phase distribution obtained from the
microstructure-based image. Here the hydraulic para-
meters refer to those of individual phases, which is differ-
ent from the bulk properties measured. Therefore, the
intrinsic permeability of these phases (i.e., solid particles,
water, and air) should first be calibrated. The calibration
process is shown in Figure 4. Soil samples under two
phased conditions are used for this purpose, using
experimental data from Lu et al. (10). The two-phase
images of totally dried soil specimens and totally satu-
rated soil specimens are generated in Matlab. The satu-
rated condition is used to calibrate the intrinsic hydraulic
properties of water. The dry condition is used to cali-
brate the intrinsic hydraulic properties of air. The intrin-
sic properties of mineral are assumed to be magnitude
smaller so that they are impermeable compared with
other phases. Next, the images are converted into
COMSOL, and proper physical and hydraulic para-
meters (Table 3) are applied to the model. No flow
boundary conditions are applied on the sides, with a
hydraulic pressure of 25 kPa applied to the surface to
produce one-dimensional flow (Figure 2). Sensitivity
studies are conducted to determine the intrinsic
Dong and Yu
Figure 2. 2D microstructure-based image of sand generated in Matlab based on particle size distribution (the white, gray, and black pixel
represents air, water, and solid particle, respectively).
Figure 3. 2D silt microstructure-based image with different extent of saturation (the gray image is generated from Matlab, the color
image is converted into COMSOL).
permeability values of solid particles, water, and air by
matching the bulk hydraulic conductivities with experi-
mental data. The calibration results for each phase of
different kinds of soils are listed in Table 3.
The flowlines are not vertical in the simulation
because of the microstructure of the model. As shown in
Figure 5, the flowlines in the clay specimen are mostly
zigzagged because the directions of the water flow are
altered by the solid particles and the numbers of clay
particles are magnitudes higher than those of silt and
sand. In addition, clay contains more tortuous pores that
end abruptly, so clay has the least permeability. For the
silt specimen, the directions of the water flow are less zig-
zagged as there are fewer solid particles in silt. The
moisture flows in the sand specimen are most vertically
distributed because sand is a material with very open
pores that pass completely and directly through the sand.
Besides that, the numbers of sand particles are magni-
tudes smaller than those of clay and silt, which causes
111
decreased impedance to the moisture flow. To summar-
ize, the more connected and the larger the pore network
is, the fewer solid particles in the soil, the greater the per-
meability it will be.
To further illustrate the impact of the microstruc-
ture in the simulation, the contour plots of the hydrau-
lic head distribution with and without considering the
microstructure in the clay specimen are shown in
Figure 6. The hydraulic head contours are horizontally
distributed in the left-hand figure because the mechan-
ical and hydraulic properties of clay are uniformly dis-
tributed, whereas the hydraulic head contours are
more complicated in the right-hand figure because ran-
domly distributed microstructures of clay are intro-
duced in the new model to make the prediction closer
to reality.
With the calibrated hydraulic properties, the bulk
hydraulic properties at different extents of saturation can
be predicted via the microstructure-based model. The
112 Transportation Research Record 2672(52)

The saturated condition is The dry condition is used The intrinsic properties of mineral
used to calibrate the intrinsic to calibrate the intrinsic are assumed to be magnitude smaller
hydraulic properties of water hydraulic properties of air because they are impermeable

The two-phase images are converted into Comsol, and proper physical and hydraulic parameters
are applied to the model

No flow boundary conditions are applied on the sides with a hydraulic pressure of 25 kPa applied
to the surface to produce one dimensional flow

Sensitivity studies are conducted to determine the intrinsic permeability values of solid particles,
water, and air by matching the bulk hydraulic conductivities with experimental data

With the calibrated hydraulic properties, the bulk hydraulic properties at different extent of
saturation can be predicted via the microstructure based model

Figure 4. Flow chart of the calibration process of the intrinsic permeability and simulation process of the bulk hydraulic conductivity.

Table 3. Parameters Used for Hydraulic Conductivity Simulations

Constant Value Units Description

D 100 mm Diameter of soil specimens

H 21 mm Height of soil specimens
Es 12.7 GPa Young’s modulus of solid particle
Ew 3.9 3 1025 Pa Young’s modulus of water
Ea 0 Pa Young’s modulus of air
rs 2600 kg/m3 Density of solid particle
rw 1000 kg/m3 Density of water
ra 1.29 kg/m3 Density of air
ms 0.3 1 Poisson’s ratio of solid particle
mw 0.5 1 Poisson’s ratio of water
ma 0 1 Poisson’s ratio of air
m 8.9 3 1024 Pas Dynamic viscosity of water
xf 4.6 3 10210 1/Pa Compressibility of water
dc 2 mm Diameter of clay particle
ds 0.01 mm Diameter of silt particle
D10 0.181 mm The particle size where 10% of the particles in the sand are smaller
D60 0.347 1 The particle size where 60% of the particles in the sand are smaller
ks 10219 m2 Intrinsic permeability of solid particle for Denver claystone
kw 8.08 3 10216 m2 Intrinsic permeability of water for Denver claystone
ka 8.92 3 10219 m2 Intrinsic permeability of air for Denver claystone
ks 10217 m2 Intrinsic permeability of solid particle for BALT silt
kw 3.08 3 10213 m2 Intrinsic permeability of water for BALT silt
ka 1.31 3 10219 m2 Intrinsic permeability of air for BALT silt
ks 10218 m2 Intrinsic permeability of solid particle for Hopi silt
kw 8.08 3 10215 m2 Intrinsic permeability of water for Hopi silt
ka 1.31 3 10219 m2 Intrinsic permeability of air for Hopi silt
ks 10216 m2 Intrinsic permeability of solid particle for Ottawa sand
kw 3.08 3 10210 m2 Intrinsic permeability of water for Ottawa sand
ka 8.92 3 10216 m2 Intrinsic permeability of air for Ottawa sand
Dong and Yu 113

Figure 5. Flowlines simulated in the hydraulic conduction experiment in three different type of soils (the left figures are the enlarged
images of the flowlines).
114 Transportation Research Record 2672(52)

Figure 6. Contour plots of the hydraulic head distribution in the clay specimen (the microstructure is not considered in the left figure).

1E-8 1E-7
Denver claystone: Experimental measurement BALT silt: Experimental measurement
Simulated hydraulic conductivity Simulated hydraulic conductivity
----- Fitting curve of simulated hydraulic conductivity by applying Mualem's equation Fitting curve of simulated hydraulic conductivity by applying Mualem's equation
1E-9 1E-8
Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)

Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)

1E-10 1E-9

1E-11 1E-10

1E-12 1E-11

1E-13 1E-12

1E-14 1E-13

1E-15 1E-14
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Effective degree of saturation (%) Effective degree of saturation (%)

1E-7 Hopi silt: Experimental measurement

1E-4 Ottawa sand: Experimental measurement
Simulated hydraulic conductivity Simulated hydraulic conductivity
Fitting curve of simulated hydraulic conductivity by applying Mualem's equation Fitting curve of simulated hydraulic conductivity by applying Mualem's equation

1E-8
Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)

Hydraulic conductivity (m/s)

1E-5

1E-9

1E-6
1E-10

1E-11
1E-7

1E-12

1E-8
1E-13

1E-14 1E-9
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Effective degree of saturation (%) Effective degree of saturation (%)

Figure 7. Comparison of the simulated hydraulic conductivity with the measured data from the experiments for the four soils and
Mualem’s equation.
Dong and Yu 115

100 100
Denver claystone: Experimental measurement BALT silt: Experimental measurement
Predicted curve based on numerical simulation Predicted curve based on numerical simulation
Effective degree of saturation (%)

Effective degree of saturation (%)

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Matric suction (kPa) Matric suction (kPa)

100 100
Hopi silt: Experimental measurement Ottawa sand: Experimental measurement
Predicted curve based on numerical simulation Predicted curve based on numerical simulation

Effective degree of saturation (%)

Effective degree of saturation (%)

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 0.1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Matric suction (kPa) Matric suction (kPa)

Figure 8. Comparison of the predicted SWCC curve with the measured data for the four soils.

results compared favorably with experimental results for conductivities of Denver claystone, BALT silt, Hopi silt,
clay, silt, and sand, as shown in Figure 7. and Ottawa sand. By fitting Mualem’s equation to the
Mualem (8) proposed the following model to describe simulated hydraulic conductivity, the pore size para-
the variation of hydraulic conductivity K with the effec- meters n can be back-calculated as 1.38, 1.37, 1.69, and
tive degree of saturation Se: 6.10 for Denver claystone, BALT silt, Hopi silt, and
Ottawa sand, respectively.
K = Ks Se 1=2 ½1  Se (Se n=(1n)  1)(n1)=n 2 ð2Þ
SWCC Prediction
where n represents pore size parameter; Ks represents
saturated hydraulic conductivity; and the effective degree From Figure 7, the fitted parameter n is calculated for
of saturation can be defined as different type of soils. Based on the soil-water retention
1n
equation raised by Genuchten (14): Se = (acn + 1) n , we
S  Sr can plot the SWCC curve of soil specimens based on the
Se = ð3Þ simulation. In the equation, C is the matric suction. For
1  Sr
Denver claystone, BALT silt, Hopi silt, and Ottawa
where Sr represents residual saturation. sand, the inverse values of the air-entry suction a are
As shown in Figure 7, hydraulic conductivity of soils 0.02 kPa21, 0.07 kPa21, a = 0.03 kPa21 and
generally decreased abruptly (as much as seven orders of a = 0.23 kPa21, respectively (10, 29).
magnitude) from its saturated value, Ks, with decreasing In Figure 8, the SWCC curve predicted by the numeri-
saturation. The simulated hydraulic conductivities gener- cal simulation agrees well with the SWCC curve obtained
ally agree well with the measured hydraulic from flow test for different type of soils (10), which
116
provides an inexpensive and efficient way to predict the
SWCC curve.
Conclusion
This research developed a microstructure-based random
finite element simulation model which provided a
physics-based simulation of the hydraulic conductivity
and soil-water retention of unsaturated soils. The advan-
tage of this model is to simulate the bulk behaviors based
on the behaviors of individual phases. This therefore
could direct efforts to understand the behaviors of indi-
vidual phases, which represent a more uniform material.
Demonstrations were given on the calibration of hydrau-
lic conductivity with experimental data, which was subse-
quently used to predict the bulk hydraulic conductivity
of soil and SWCC at different extents of saturation. The
results were consistent with experimental observations.
The modeling approach combined the advantages of the
discrete element model in simulating the behaviors of
particulate system and the computational efficiency of
the finite element model. It provided a new and reliable
simulation tool to predict unsaturated soil behaviors,
and also reduced the testing time and costs to incorpo-
rate unsaturated soil mechanics into engineering practice.
Acknowledgments
This research is partially supported by the Ohio Department of
Transportation and U.S. National Science Foundation.
Author Contributions
The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study
conception and design: Xiong (Bill) Yu, Shaoyang Dong, Yuan
Guo; data collection: Xiong (Bill) Yu, Shaoyang Dong; analysis
and interpretation of results: Xiong (Bill) Yu, Shaoyang Dong;
draft manuscript preparation: Xiong (Bill) Yu, Shaoyang
Dong. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final
version of the manuscript.
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The Standing Committee on Engineering Behavior of
Unsaturated Geomaterials (AFP60) peer-reviewed this paper
(18-05995).