UC San Diego

A novel Centrifuge Permeameter (CP) system was designed to characterize and model seepage and reactive solute transport through low permeability materials and geological strata. A new CP module for the Broadbent G18 geotechnical centrifuge (2.0 m diameter), provides new capability for hydraulic conductivity (K) and transport testing of materials including drill cores, mine tailings and engineered barriers. By designing centrifuge models that maintain chemical equilibrium, reactive transport of solutes can be assessed within a reasonable experiment time at accelerated gravity. The K of minimally disturbed drill cores or porous materials having a diameter of 65-100 mm and a length of 20-200 mm can be measured using steady state flow, with a K detection limit currently within the order of 10-12 m/s. This paper presents K values as a function of depth below ground for drill core, and K as a function of effective porosity of reconstituted silica flour specimens. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.