Hydraulic resistance induced by deposition of sediment in porous medium

The deposition of the instantaneously released sediment into a gravel matri x and the hydraulic resistance induced by the rapid siltation are investiga ted herein. The experimental results reveal that the depositional patterns of the sediment are governed by the gravel-sediment size ratio, the amount of sediment released, and the seepage flowrate. The observations also indic ate that the stable stage of sediment deposition is reached shortly after t he occurrence of sudden slump. A regression relation is developed to quanti fy the stable-stage hydraulic resistance with the major governing factors. Given the hydraulic resistance, one can use the siltation equation to evalu ate the hydraulic conductivity of the silted porous medium. With such infor mation, planning of the engineering alternatives to meet the seepage flow r equirements is made possible.