Geology topics

N. Lu

Publications and source records attributed to N. Lu.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Experimental test of theory for the stability of partially saturated vertical cut slopes

This paper extends Culmann's vertical-cut analysis to unsaturated soils. To test the extended theory, unsaturated sand was compacted to a uniform porosity and moisture content in a laboratory apparatus. A sliding door that extended the height of the free face of the slope was lowered until the vertical cut failed. Digital images of the slope cross section and upper surface were acquired concurrently. A recently developed particle image velocimetry (PIV) tool was used to quantify soil displacement. The PIV analysis showed strain localization at varying distances from the sliding door prior to failure. The areas of localized strain were coincident with the location of the slope crest after failure. Shear-strength and soil-water-characteristic parameters of the sand were independently tested for use in extended analyses of the vertical-cut stability and of the failure plane angle. Experimental failure heights were within 22.3% of the heights predicted using the extended theory.

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engin↗

USGS2011

Direction of unsaturated flow in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope

The distribution of soil moisture in a homogeneous and isotropic hillslope is a transient, variably saturated physical process controlled by rainfall characteristics, hillslope geometry, and the hydrological properties of the hillslope materials. The major driving mechanisms for moisture movement are gravity and gradients in matric potential. The latter is solely controlled by gradients of moisture content. In a homogeneous and isotropic saturated hillslope, absent a gradient in moisture content and under the driving force of gravity with a constant pressure boundary at the slope surface, flow is always in the lateral downslope direction, under either transient or steady state conditions. However, under variably saturated conditions, both gravity and moisture content gradients drive fluid motion, leading to complex flow patterns. In general, the flow field near the ground surface is variably saturated and transient, and the direction of flow could be laterally downslope, laterally upslope, or vertically downward. Previous work has suggested that prevailing rainfall conditions are sufficient to completely control these flow regimes. This work, however, shows that under time-varying rainfall conditions, vertical, downslope, and upslope lateral flow can concurrently occur at different depths and locations within the hillslope. More importantly, we show that the state of wetting or drying in a hillslope defines the temporal and spatial regimes of flow and when and where laterally downslope and/or laterally upslope flow occurs.

Water Resources Research↗

USGS1994

Simulation of gas phase transport of carbon-14 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA

We have simulated gas phase transport of Carbon-14 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Three models were established to calculate travel time of Carbon-14 from the potential repository to the mountain surface: a geochemical model for retardation factors, a coupled gas-flow and heat transfer model for temperature and gas flow fields, and a particle tracker for travel time calculation. The simulations used three parallel, east-west cross-sections that were taken from the Sandia National Laboratories Interactive Graphics Information System (IGIS). Assuming that the repository is filled with 30- year-old waste at an initial areal power density of 57 kw/acre, we found that repository temperatures remain above 60??C for more than 10,000 years. For a tuff permeability of 10-7 cm2, Carbon-14 travel times to the surface are mostly less than 1,000 years, for particles starting at any time within the first 10,000 years. If the tuff permeability is 10-8 cm2, however, Carbon- 14 travel times to the surface range from 3,000 to 12,000 years, for particle starting within the 10,000 years.

Waste Management↗