Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil with Poly-Vinyl Alcohol (PVA)

Abstract

Due to the changing climate, the rainfall duration and intensity increase each year. Especially in urban areas, the increased impervious surfaces (roofs, pavements) augment the surface runoff. Therefore, it is desirable to examine ways of increasing the soil hydraulic conductivity in a controlled manner and of reducing the runoff. In this study, we investigate the impact of the poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) on soil hydraulic conductivity. The examined soil is poorly graded sand with clay (SP-SC). We use mixtures with 3% and 10 % PVA and employ a field test method for the measurements. We examine the suitability of the method for our measurements. The trends of the hydraulic conductivity observed match those found in literature for soil without PVA. Our preliminary results show that although the PVA does not significantly increase the overall soil's hydraulic conductivity, that is the ability of water to pass through soil, the hydraulic conductivity increases at the early stages of the PVA's dissolution.