Experimental research on core sand losses through seam between tubes of geotube dam

Combining laboratory model tests and image analysis,a study on the damage of geotube damand sand losses through the seam between tubes under the action of unidirectional flow is illuminated inthis paper. In connection with the characteristics of particle motion and changes of hydrodynamics,the wayof sand losses is illustrated,which include two modes,the groove mode and the full-face integral movingmode. The instable region in sand box which used to simulate the dam core is explored. It is shown thatthe instable region in sand box concentrates in the inverted cone area above the sand box export. The fea-tures of particles transport in pipeline which used to simulate seam between tubes and features of thetrench formation are analyzed in detail,and it is found that the motion path of particles in the pipelineconcentrates in its surface area. The interaction between particles and water exists throughout the process ofdamage and core sand losses. Meanwhile,the spatial distribution characteristics of different particles are an-alyzed in the transport process in pipeline.