A Large-Sized Permeameter for Studying Suffusion Characteristics of Anisotropic Soils

Abstract Seepage-induced suffusion involves the migration of fine particles within a soil matrix. Seepage flow is affected by the soil permeability anisotropy of anisotropic soil fabric; however, suffusion anisotropy is unclear because of the limited function of existing permeameters. In recent studies, the effect of seepage direction has been investigated under only low hydraulic gradients because the control of seepage direction relies merely on gravity. In this study, a new, large-sized permeameter is developed with which suffusion tests can be conducted along horizontal or vertical seepage directions under high hydraulic gradients. Correspondingly, the permeameter can accommodate a specimen of 540 × 500 × 470 or 540 × 540 × 440 mm3 (length × width × height). The seepage direction is switched by changing the boundary conditions of the specimen with detachable perforated plates that allow pressurized water originating from different inlets to flow along horizontal or vertical directions. Two repeated pairs of tests were performed on a gap-graded clayey gravel to investigate the suffusion anisotropy of saturated clayey gravel. The results show that the maximum relative deviations of measurements for initial hydraulic conductivity, initiation, and failure hydraulic gradients are less than 3.5 %, demonstrating satisfactory reliability. The ratio of the initial horizontal hydraulic conductivity to vertical hydraulic conductivity for the test soil is 13.87, indicating a significantly anisotropic fabric induced by compaction. The ratios of horizontal initiation and failure hydraulic gradients to vertical initiation and failure hydraulic gradients are 0.52 and 0.59, respectively. This implies that suffusion anisotropy should not be neglected for evaluating the internal instability of anisotropic soils.