Nondestructive Quantification of Macropore Volume using Shear‐Thinning Fluid

Understanding and quantifying the role of preferential pathways, such as soil cracks, on flow in porous media requires accurate estimation of their volume and connectivity. Current estimation methods either are based on surface measurements, which cannot account for complex geometries or networks, o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSoil Science Society of America journal Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 445 - 453
Main Authors Stewart, R.D., Najm, M.R. Abou, Rupp, D.E., Selker, J.S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Madison The Soil Science Society of America, Inc 01.03.2014
American Society of Agronomy
Subjects
Accuracy
Cracks
Destructive testing
Field tests
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Guar gum
Infiltration
Pathways
Porous media
Soil (material)
Soil sciences
Thinning
Utilities
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Summary:Understanding and quantifying the role of preferential pathways, such as soil cracks, on flow in porous media requires accurate estimation of their volume and connectivity. Current estimation methods either are based on surface measurements, which cannot account for complex geometries or networks, or are destructive to the system being studied. In this study, we developed a new, nondestructive method that utilizes a known volume of shear‐thinning viscous solution (here based on guar gum) to fill preferential pathways, with limited infiltration into the soil matrix. Theoretical expressions were developed to predict the shear‐thinning properties of a range of solution concentrations and the amount of solution lost to matrix infiltration. Laboratory and field experiments tested the theory and assessed the utility and accuracy of the proposed method, which was found to be practicable as predicted.
Bibliography:All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.
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ISSN:0361-5995
1435-0661
DOI:10.2136/sssaj2013.08.0346