Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Lynn S. Bennethum
Department of Mathematics, University of Colorado at Denver, USA
ABSTRACT: Here we examine typical experiments performed on saturated soils (swelling and non-swelling
porous materials) which can be performed on any liquid-solid porous material and relate them to thermodynamic
quantities. Compressibility experiments typically take a porous material sample and control two of the following
four parameters: electro-chemical potential (or pressure for a non-swelling porous material) of the liquid phase,
pressure of the sample, volume of the sample, and mass of liquid leaving the porous material. The other two
variables are measured at equilibrium. In this paper a framework is established which rigorously determines
these compressibility terms with thermodynamic quantities, allowing us to determine the relationships between
what is measurable (compressibility coefficients) and thermodynamic quantities such as the compressibility of
each phase or the change in energy with respect to moisture content. This framework allows us to extend flow
and deformation or wave propagation models to compressible porous materials or for swelling porous materials
such as montmorillonite. Because minimal assumptions are made the results are applicable to modeling wave
propagation or flow and deformation in soils, bio-materials, and bone.
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Copyright 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
p the fluid energy changes with moisture content. For
confining liquid
a porous material in which there is little interaction
between the liquid and solid phase (e.g. sandstone),
l = 0, and we obtain the equivalence of a balance
soil of the Gibbs potential and pressures (assuming that
sample the density of the liquid phase is the same within the
plA porous medium and out).
pl ps
In this experiment one usually prescribes two of the
semi-permeable quantities {plA , p, V , M l } and measures the response
membrane of the other two. If the liquid phase is not allowed
to drain, then the compressibility is termed undrained
and is determined by measuring the change in pressure,
Figure 1. Experiment for compressibility. p, with respect to (bulk) volume, V .
There are many bulk compressibilities, and here we
There are four variables which vary and are directly mention a few. In measuring the drained compressibil-
observable: the total pressure, p, mass of the liquid in ity the liquid is allowed to drain from the system as it
the porous material, M l , the volume of the bulk mate- is being compressed so that the liquid pressure is held
rial, V = V l + V s , and the pressure, plA , of the liquid constant. Thus measurements are made at constant
phase as measured outside the porous material. For liquid pressure with no solid leaving the system:
non-swelling porous material plA is equal to the pres-
sure of the liquid inside the porous material, plA = pl ,
but for a swelling material, it is the Gibbs potential
or chemical potential, G l , which is constant across
the semi-permeable membrane, i.e. G l = G lA (Callen
1985; Castellan 1983). where M s is the total mass of the solid phase. Thus we
We note that for a non-swelling porous material, the are implicitly assuming that p = p(V , plA , M s ), i.e. that
Helmholtz potential of the liquid phase is a function the external pressure is a function of the total volume,
of liquid volume and liquid mass, i.e. Al = Al (V l , M l ) liquid phase Gibbs potential, and the mass of the solid
or Al = Al (l ), where Al has units of energy of the phase.
liquid phase per unit mass of the liquid phase and l To obtain the unjacketed compressibility the soil
has units of mass of liquid phase per unit volume of sample in Figure 1 is not confined so that the bulk liq-
liquid. For a swelling porous material, in which the uid pressure (and hence confining pressure) and pore
thermodynamic properties of the liquid are a func- liquid are the same, (plA = p). Thus measurements are
tion of the moisture content (or volume fraction of made keeping plA p and M s fixed:
liquid) we have Al = Al (l , l ). Thus, using the fact
2
that pl = ((l ) Al /l )|l (Callen 1985; Bennethum
andWeinstein 2004) (and similarly for plA ) the bal-
ance of the Gibbs potentials at the semi-permeable
membrane implies that
The undrained compressibility is measured allowing
no fluid or solid to leave the system, so that the total
mass of fluid and solid is held fixed. Thus
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This implies that p = p(l , l , s ). In terms of exten- Table 1. Definition of variables.
sive variables, this implies that p = p(V l , V s , M l , M s )
which implies that the confining pressure is a func-
tion of 4 independent variables. Yet all the measurable
compressibility coefficients assume there are only
three independent variables: For example, the drained
compressibility assumes that p = p(V , plA , M s ). The
problem persists if the solid phase is assumed incom-
pressible, for in this case we have that the drained
compressibility is a function of two independent vari-
ables, V and plA , while the thermodynamics tells us
that it should be a function of 3 independent vari-
ables: V l , V s , M l . If both phases are incompressible
then the discrepency is resolved as there are now only to a porous material composed of at least one liquid
two indendent variables. The primary goal of this paper phase it does not apply to composite materials where
is to explain a framework for which we can make use no material leaves the system. However we shall con-
of these compressibilities for porous materials which tinue to include the results for the undrained test for
may be swelling and/or have at least one compressible completeness.
phase. K is the compressibility coefficient for each phase.
In general the compressibility of, e.g. water, is a
function of volume fraction, it is likely difficult to
3 SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR measure this dependence, so it is generally assumed
NON-SWELLING POROUS MATERIAL that the compressibility is the same as the pure
material.
We define a non-swelling porous material as one in The term (ps /s )|s is a measure of change of
which the properties of the fluid phase do not change pressure with respect to solid phase configuration.
with moisture content. Typically sandstone is consid- If the solid phase is considered incompressible then
ered non-swelling while montmorillonite is considered changing the solid-phase pressure changes the volume
swelling. Thus for a non-swelling porous material fraction i.e. the solid phase will re-arrange itself so
we consider the total pressure to be a function of as to minimize its energy. The thermodynamic defini-
independent variables as follows: tion of pressure is in terms of the Helmholtz potential
(one can think of this as a form of internal energy) is
standard and can be found in a textbook on physical
chemistry (Castellan 1983).
Note that though the liquid pressure is not consid- The terms defined in the last two rows of Table 1 are
ered a function of moisture content (volume fraction well defined in the sense that within this framework
of liquid), the solid phase pressure is, since the con- there are no other independent variables. This means
figuration of the solid phase (how the solid portion is that once a constitutive relationship is determined for
arranged geometrically) affects the pressure. Although these variables this constitutive relationship will hold
the volume fraction cannot capture all the geomet- for a variety of conditions. This is not true of the
ric effects, it is one of the principle factors which unjacketed compressibility and other compressibility
we will consider. Also note that for a non-swelling coefficients. For example consider the undrained com-
porous material, plA = pl as explained in the previous pressibility, (7). This definition assumes p is a function
section. The details of the following calculations (in of V , M l , and M s . However as already explained, p is a
this section) are available in (Bennethum 2005). function of l , l , and s , or, in terms of extensive vari-
To begin with, lets define the quantities which will ables, p is a function of V l , V , M l , and M s . This means
be used in this section; here refers to phase where that the undrained compressibility could depend upon
= l for liquid or = s for solid: an additional variable, and thus when doing an experi-
In regards to Table 1, g(l ) is the change in liquid ment the value measured may change because there is
content as measured by changing the liquid volume an unaccounted for dependence. The same argument
for the drained test (in which the liquid pressure is can be made for the other compressibilities as well as
held fixed). The variables g( l ), g(
l ), g(
l ) are also the change in moisture content variables g(l ), g( l ),
a measure of change in liquid volume with respect to l ) (note that g(
and g( l ) is well defined). The goal of
solid volume, but for different tests. Note that although this work is to relate what is well-defined (the terms
l ), and g(
g(l ), g( l ) are measurable, g(
l ) is not mea- in the last two rows of Table 1), with what is measur-
surable (there is no mass leaving the system to be able (the compressibilities and the change in moisture
measured). This will limit the usefulness of this theory content variables).
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Relating these variables for a non-swelling porous Table 2. Definition of variables.
material has already been accomplished (Bennethum
2005) so here we present some results without
derivation:
4 EXAMPLE OF FRAMEWORK:
UNJACKETED COMPRESSIBILITY
We go through in some detail the derivation of the Using equations (1) and (4) for dG l we have
equivalent relationship for the unjacketed compress-
ibility, (6), for a swelling porous material. This is quite
a bit more involved for a couple of reasons. One is
that there is an additional independent variable, i.e. we
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Copyright 2005 Taylor & Francis Group plc, London, UK
Since pl is not a function of l pl directly, we need to
convert the last partial derivative. Beginning with the
total derivative of pl = pl (l , l ) we have
Using l =V 1 /V we have
Similarly
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There are at least two checks we can perform on the volume fraction. Thus if there is a dependence on all 3
combined (24) and (25). The first is to see if, upon intensive variables a constitutive equation which will
simplifying to a non-swelling porous material, we be valid in general is not obtainable for these variables.
recover(10). Thus we set l =pl /l 0, lA = l , To resolve these issues several new, well-defined
and since for the non-swelling porous material the variables are defined: the compressibilities of each
unjacketed test requires pl = p we also have pl = ps . phase, K l and K s , the swelling potential, l , and
Simplifying (24) and (25) using these assumptions the change in pressures with respect to volume frac-
shows we indeed recover (10). The second test is to tion, (pl /l )|l and (ps /s )|s . These quantities are
assume the liquid and solid phases are incomopress- welldefined in the sense that they take into account
ible. In this case g( l ) = l , and lA =l . In
l ) = 1, h( additional dependencies. This implies that once a
this case we should eliminate the dependence of K
constitutive relationship is determined for these quan-
upon K l , and it does. tities in terms of the independent variables, it should
Because (24) and (25) are quite complicated addi- remain unchanged (assuming the assumptions of this
tional simplifying assumptions are necessary before framework are valid). However they are not directly
these equations become tractible. However now we measurable. In this paper a framework for the relation-
know what assumptions are being assumed explic- ship between what is measurable (compressibilities
itly. For the case where the liquid phase is considered and change in liquid content quantities, g(l ), etc.)
incompressible(24) becomes and what is well-defined is determined. The relation-
ship has been obtained for the non-swelling porous
materials and an example of the calculations required
is shown for a swelling porous material. It is hoped
that by performing a variety of compressibility exper-
iments the constitutive expressions for the welldefined
which is very tractible. quantities can be determined and thus these quantities
can be reliably used in models involving a deforming
porous material.
5 CONCLUSIONS
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