Large-strain numerical solution for coupled self-weight consolidation and contaminant transport considering nonlinear compressibility and permeability

Based on the one-dimensional (1D) consolidation equation and advection-dispersion transport equation, this paper presents a large-strain numerical solution for coupled self-weight consolidation and contaminant transport in saturated deforming porous media considering nonlinear compressibility and permeability relationships. The finite difference method is used to solve the governing equations for consolidation and transport. The proposed numerical solution for consolidation accounts for vertical strain, soil self-weight, and non-linearly changing compressibility and hydraulic conductivity during consolidation. The solution for solute transport accounts for advection, diffusion, mechanical dispersion, linear and nonlinear equilibrium sorption, and porosity-dependent effective diffusion coefficient. The proposed numerical solution is verified against a self-weight consolidation field tank test, an analytical solution in the literature, and the CST1 numerical model. Using the verified solution, a series of parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of several important parameters on the contaminant transport process for confined disposal of dredged contaminated sediments. The results indicate that the consolidation process and contaminant transport process induced by soil self-weight- can be very different from those induced by the more traditional external surcharge loading. Treating the self-weight loading as traditional external surcharge loading can underestimate the rate of contaminant outflow, especially in the early times. The compressibility and permeability relationships of sediment and the type of loading (i.e., self-weight loading versus external surcharge loading) can all significantly affect the contaminant transport process for confined disposal of dredged contaminated sediment. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.