Probabilistic analysis of the performance of compacted clay liners with superficial cracks

Compacted clay liner is the major barrier material for landfill. Desiccation crack on the superface of the liner may affect its performance. The liner was divided into crack part and noncrack part, and the Monte Carlo method was used to analyze the hydraulic performance of the liner. The probability of high concentration (close to 1) at the base of the liner is large, even the mean concentration is relatively low. This is a big threat to the environment, which cannot be reflected through deterministic methods. It is more reasonable to consider the increase in hydraulic conductivity for crack part. Enough thickness of liner is important to reduce the effect of hydraulic conductivity of crack part on performance of the liner. Taking the hydraulic conductivities of the two parts as independent variables, the results tend to be safe.