Experimental Study of Suffusion in Sand–Clay Mixtures under Variably Saturated Conditions

Abstract

Suffusion refers to the loss of small particles in a soil matrix without volume changes, caused by hydrodynamic forces and alternation of pore fluid chemistry. This study investigated the ionic concentration (IC)-induced suffusion of sand–clay mixtures under saturated and unsaturated conditions through laboratory soil-column experiments. The impacts of clay mineralogy and sand-grain size on suffusion were investigated based on the breakthrough curves (BTCs) obtained from the soil-column experiments. In addition, the degree of saturation during the experiments was measured to assess the impact of the saturation state on suffusion in the sand–clay mixtures. The observed BTCs in this study demonstrated that suffusion was more significant under saturated conditions than unsaturated conditions for the sand–kaolinite and sand–illite mixtures. In contrast, the sand–bentonite mixtures exhibited higher susceptibility to suffusion under unsaturated conditions. Moreover, for the sand–kaolinite mixtures, a higher susceptibility to suffusion was observed with smaller sand-grain sizes under saturated conditions, whereas the opposite trend was observed under unsaturated conditions. This study provides insights into the suffusion behavior of sand–clay mixtures, considering influential factors such as clay type, sand-grain size, and IC gradient under both saturated and unsaturated conditions, which highlight the importance of considering the saturation state for a comprehensive understanding of suffusion in the sand–clay mixtures.