Numerical study of infiltration into a soil–geotextile column

Abstract

The hydraulic response to infiltration of geotextiles embedded in a sandy soil is examined. An experiment examining infiltration in a one-dimensional, homogeneous sand column is simulated using the finite element method, and functions for the hydraulic properties of the unsaturated porous media that incorporate hysteresis are examined. The numerical procedure is used to model infiltration into a sand column containing a geotextile layer, and the numerical results are compared with the experimental data. To provide insight into the hydraulic behaviour of these systems, the calibrated model is then used to perform a series of numerical experiments for different soil and boundary conditions. Finally, based on these results, the hydraulic behaviour of a one-dimensional, soil–geotextile layered system during infiltration is discussed.