Hydraulic conductivity of clay liners under wet-dry cycling: State of the art

After being constructed or during being used, desiccation cracks might have great effect on hydraulic conductivity of clay liner. Based on a literature review of the studies on hydraulic conductivity of clay liners under the condition of wet-dry cycling, crack study method is presented. The effect of material characteristics, test method, and test condition on hydraulic conductivity is analyzed. Test method of hydraulic conductivity for cracked liner need to be research. Rigid wall permeameter might be a reasonable method as long as problems such as sidewall leakage and saturation can be solved. Theoretical analysis of hydraulic conductivity based on quantitative description of crack might be a useful method to avoid the diversity from test method. For hydraulic performance of high plasticity compacted clay liner and geosynthetic clay liner, the common action of dry-wet cycling, ion exchange, and stress state should be study.