Abstract
Conventional model tests and centrifuge tests are frequently used to investigate seepage erosion. However, the centrifugal test method may not be efficient according to the results of hydraulic conductivity tests and piping erosion tests. The reason why seepage deformation in model tests may deviate from similarity was first discussed in this work. Then, the similarity criterion for seepage deformation in porous media was improved based on the extended Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer equation. Finally, the coupled particle flow code–computational fluid dynamics (PFC-CFD) model at the mesoscopic level was proposed to verify the derived similarity criterion. The proposed model maximizes its potential to simulate seepage erosion via the discrete element method and satisfy the similarity criterion by adjusting particle size. The numerical simulations achieved identical results with the prototype, thus indicating that the PFC-CFD model that satisfies the improved similarity criterion can accurately reproduce the processes of seepage erosion at the mesoscopic level.
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Foundation item: Project(51309086) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Project(20110094120002) supported by the Ministry Education Foundation of China; Projects(2014B04914, 2011B07214) supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China
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Ni, Xd., Wang, Y., Chen, K. et al. Improved similarity criterion for seepage erosion using mesoscopic coupled PFC–CFD model. J. Cent. South Univ. 22, 3069–3078 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2843-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-015-2843-9