Hydraulic Conductivity of Cracked Concrete Linings

Concrete linings are used for water containment, in particular in reservoirs and canals. When the soil underlying a concrete lining has a high permeability, seepage into the ground of water from concrete-lined reservoirs and canals is essentially governed by leakage of water through the concrete linings. Therefore, it is essential to properly evalu-ate the hydraulic conductivity of concrete linings. It is well known that cracks generally develop after construction in concrete slabs and, therefore, in concrete linings. This article provides essential material data and a method for the evaluation of the hydraulic con-ductivity of concrete linings, in particular cracked concrete linings, through two ap-proaches. The first approach consists of a review of selected published values of the measured hydraulic conductivity of intact concrete and the measured hydraulic conduc-tivity of cracked concrete depending on the degree of cracking. The second approach consists in developing an analytical method to determine the hydraulic conductivity of cracked concrete. The analytical method uses an unpublished revised interpretation of the results of an experimental evaluation of the influence, on water flow, of the tortuosity and rugosity of concrete cracks. The results obtained with the two approaches are compared and numerical examples are presented.