Coupled fluid, electrical and chemical flows in soil

Abstract

Renewed study of coupled flows in soils has been stimulated by the potential uses of electrokinetics for remedying waste sites. Most suggested uses involve the movements of fluid, electricity and contaminants in soil induced by the combined influence of hydraulic, electrical and chemical gradients imposed simultaneously. A general coupled flow theory describing these phenomena in soils under isothermal conditions is developed on the basis of the formalism of non-equilibrium thermodynamics to aid in the proper understanding and theoretical analysis of the physics involved in these complex transport processes. The results of experimental evaluation on the validity of the proposed theory applied to compacted clay are presented. -Authors