Sustainable Drainage System-Capillary Barrier Column Experiment Data

Dataset to support Canadian Geotechnical Journal article publication entitled 'Performance of sustainable drainage capillary barrier systems for climate change adaptation in temperate climates'. See https://doi.org/10.1139/cgj-2024-0368

Capillary barrier systems (CBS) offer a sustainable solution supporting sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to prevent urban flooding: The occurrence of flooding in urban areas is increasing in response to more intense precipitation, changes in land use that increase runoff (e.g., reduction of green spaces), and reduced water retention of soils. The need for adaptation to the impacts of extreme weather extends to buried assets (e.g., utilities, pavement subbases, and foundations) that are vulnerable to deterioration due to shrink–swell behaviour. Combined SuDS and capillary barriers offer a solution to these challenges. Here, small-scale (110 mm diameter, 1 m length) column experiments were used to test capillary barrier systems, also modelled in HYDRUS 1-D, to consider the impact of relative grain size between the two constituent materials, the use of geosynthetic filter fabrics, and the thickness of the water retention layer on combined sustainable drainage-capillary barrier system (SuDS-CBS) performance under a range of storm inflows. Recycled materials including crushed concrete and water treatment residual (a waste product of the water treatment industry) are shown to be effective for use in SuDS-CBS. Laboratory experiments and numerical modelling demonstrate the importance of antecedent moisture conditions for determining the performance of a SuDS-CBS during rainstorm events.