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A transparent aqueous-saturated sand surrogate for use in physical modeling

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Abstract

This paper presents the geotechnical properties of a new family of synthetic transparent soils made of fused quartz, saturated with a matched refractive index water-based sucrose solution, suitable for modeling the behavior of sand in small-scale model tests. The dry density ranged between 1,134 and 1,358 kg/m3. The peak angle of friction was found to range from 46° to 57°. The average hydraulic conductivity was 1.7 × 10−5 cm/s. The compressibility index (C c) ranged from 0.34 to 0.57. The main advantage of fused quartz over available sand surrogates made of silica gel is that its solid structure better models the behavior of natural sand. The matching pore fluids are inert and non-toxic, which facilitates their use in educational settings. The availability of a safe and easy-to-use transparent sand permits measurement of three-dimensional deformation patterns and flow characteristics in controlled research experiments. The introduction of an aqueous solution permits the use of two immiscible pore fluids, one made of mineral oil and the other made of a sucrose solution, for modeling multiphase flow problems, as well as coupled flow-deformation problems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Grant No: HDTRA1-10-1-0049 and The United States National Science Foundation Grant No: DGE 0741714. Fused quartz powder used in this investigation was manufactured by Mineral Technology Corporation (Mintec). Low Color Sucrose™ used to match the fused quartz was manufactured by Indiana Sugars. Krystol 40™ and Puretol 7™ used to match the fused quartz were manufactured by PetroCanada/Suncor. The loading system and toxic interface units were manufactured by Geotac Soil Testing. Refractive indices of liquids were determined using an Atago Refractometer.

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  1. Department of Civil and Urban Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Six Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA

    Ivan L. Guzman, Magued Iskander, Eduardo Suescun-Florez & Mehdi Omidvar

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  1. Ivan L. Guzman
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  2. Magued Iskander
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Guzman, I.L., Iskander, M., Suescun-Florez, E. et al. A transparent aqueous-saturated sand surrogate for use in physical modeling . Acta Geotech. 9, 187–206 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-013-0247-2

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