Laboratory test and numerical simulation of composite geomembrane leakage in plain reservoir

Abstract

Plain reservoir plays an important role in alleviating water shortage in plain areas which are generally crowded with large populations. As an effective and cheap anti-seepage measure, geomembrane is widely applied in plain reservoirs. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the seepage discharge caused by composite geomembrane leakage. The laboratory test and numerical calculation are carried out in this paper to analyze the influence of three factors (i.e., water head, leakage size, and leakage location) on seepage discharge. It is found from the results of the orthogonal and single-factor analysis that the impact order of the three factors on the seepage discharge of plain reservoir is: distance from dam toe > water head > leakage size. Moreover, the seepage discharge increases as the water head, leakage size, and leakage quantity increase, in a linear relation. The opposite trend can be sawed in the seepage discharge when the distance from dam toe rises. Furthermore, a threshold distance is innovatively presented based on the results of numerical analysis. The ranking of three factors has enlightening significance for future scholars to track and study key issues of the leakage of composite geomembrane. The threshold distance presented in this paper is beneficial for engineers to manage and maintain the reservoir. Generally, the findings of this study can be beneficial to deepen the understanding of the influence of composite geomembrane leakage on the plain reservoirs.

Keywords

• composite geomembrane
• leakage
• plain reservoir
• numerical simulation