Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils
Due to severe mass transfer limitations, the remediation efficiency of low-permeability contaminated sites often fails to meet expectations. Hydraulic fracturing technology has been utilized to enhance amendment delivery, but the influence of soil heterogeneity is commonly overlooked. To address thi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775525002598 |
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| author | Mengwen Gao He Chen Shijin Feng Qiteng Zheng Hongxin Chen |
| author_facet | Mengwen Gao He Chen Shijin Feng Qiteng Zheng Hongxin Chen |
| author_sort | Mengwen Gao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to severe mass transfer limitations, the remediation efficiency of low-permeability contaminated sites often fails to meet expectations. Hydraulic fracturing technology has been utilized to enhance amendment delivery, but the influence of soil heterogeneity is commonly overlooked. To address this issue, this study develops a numerical model to simulate the enhanced transport of amendments, incorporating convection, diffusion, adsorption, and degradation processes. Within the model, random permeability fields are generated based on geostatistical methods to explore how soil heterogeneity affects amendment injection efficiency, distribution characteristics, and the underlying physical mechanisms. The results indicate that (1) soil heterogeneity significantly reduces the amendment injection efficiency, with stronger heterogeneity correlating to lower efficiency, (2) soil heterogeneity markedly alters the amendment distribution characteristics, leading to the formation of localized “nodes”, (3) the mechanism by which heterogeneity reduces injection efficiency involves decreasing the density of preferential flow paths in the soil, and (4) the adverse effects of heterogeneity can be mitigated by employing pressure compensation or adjusting well spacing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a62ac168ad14a34b1f99a2d5e9741b6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1674-7755 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a62ac168ad14a34b1f99a2d5e9741b62025-08-20T03:45:11ZengElsevierJournal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering1674-77552025-08-011785188520510.1016/j.jrmge.2025.06.001Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soilsMengwen Gao0He Chen1Shijin Feng2Qiteng Zheng3Hongxin Chen4Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Baowu Group Environmental Resources Technology Co.,LTD, Shanghai, 201907, ChinaDepartment of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Corresponding author.Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, ChinaDepartment of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, ChinaDepartment of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China; State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Shanghai, 200092, ChinaDue to severe mass transfer limitations, the remediation efficiency of low-permeability contaminated sites often fails to meet expectations. Hydraulic fracturing technology has been utilized to enhance amendment delivery, but the influence of soil heterogeneity is commonly overlooked. To address this issue, this study develops a numerical model to simulate the enhanced transport of amendments, incorporating convection, diffusion, adsorption, and degradation processes. Within the model, random permeability fields are generated based on geostatistical methods to explore how soil heterogeneity affects amendment injection efficiency, distribution characteristics, and the underlying physical mechanisms. The results indicate that (1) soil heterogeneity significantly reduces the amendment injection efficiency, with stronger heterogeneity correlating to lower efficiency, (2) soil heterogeneity markedly alters the amendment distribution characteristics, leading to the formation of localized “nodes”, (3) the mechanism by which heterogeneity reduces injection efficiency involves decreasing the density of preferential flow paths in the soil, and (4) the adverse effects of heterogeneity can be mitigated by employing pressure compensation or adjusting well spacing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775525002598HeterogeneityLow-permeability soilHydraulic fracturingFracture-matrix systemRemediation |
| spellingShingle | Mengwen Gao He Chen Shijin Feng Qiteng Zheng Hongxin Chen Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Heterogeneity Low-permeability soil Hydraulic fracturing Fracture-matrix system Remediation |
| title | Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils |
| title_full | Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils |
| title_short | Understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low-permeability soils |
| title_sort | understanding the effect of heterogeneity on amendment delivery in fractured low permeability soils |
| topic | Heterogeneity Low-permeability soil Hydraulic fracturing Fracture-matrix system Remediation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674775525002598 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mengwengao understandingtheeffectofheterogeneityonamendmentdeliveryinfracturedlowpermeabilitysoils AT hechen understandingtheeffectofheterogeneityonamendmentdeliveryinfracturedlowpermeabilitysoils AT shijinfeng understandingtheeffectofheterogeneityonamendmentdeliveryinfracturedlowpermeabilitysoils AT qitengzheng understandingtheeffectofheterogeneityonamendmentdeliveryinfracturedlowpermeabilitysoils AT hongxinchen understandingtheeffectofheterogeneityonamendmentdeliveryinfracturedlowpermeabilitysoils |