Laboratory tests of electro-osmotic consolidation combined with vacuum preloading on kaolinite using electrokinetic geosynthetics

Laboratory tests were conducted on kaolinite to investigate the effectiveness of electro-osmotic consolidation combined with vacuum preloading using electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG). The results showed that the combined method could remove more water and induce larger surface ground settlements compared with the traditional vacuum preloading or electro-osmotic consolidation. Vacuum preloading was quite effective during the first 4?h, though the electro-osmotic consolidation took a main role in dewatering process after 9?h. The combined method could also hinder the development of cracks, induce higher negative pore water pressure and hence increase the efficiency of electro-osmotic consolidation. The results showed that deep electro-osmotic consolidation technique combined with vacuum preloading could result in significant water removal efficiency along with shorter electrode length. Furthermore, both electro-osmotic consolidation and the combined method could consolidate the soil efficiently with low energy consumption.     

Experimental study on a dredged fill ground improved by a two-stage vacuum preloading method

The vacuum preloading method has been wisely chosen among many ground-improvement methods considering the time limit of many projects and the characteristics of reclaimed soil. However, the loss in vacuum with soil depth, the clogging around prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), and the deteriorative consolidation of the deep soil layer, among other factors, create a large challenge to vacuum preloading for dredged marine clay fill. Thus, this study proposes a two-stage vacuum preloading method and focuses on its feasibility and effectiveness. Contrasting laboratory tests are performed in two identical experimental tanks with dredged marine clay fill from the Wenzhou land reclamation site in China. In one tank, the one-stage vacuum preloading method is used to serve as a baseline for this study. In the other tank, use of the two-stage vacuum preloading method is proposed for consolidation; it comprises two stages. In the first stage, the dredged marine clay fill is conditioned by vacuum preloading using half of the PVDs, where the dissipation of the excess pore water pressure tends to be steady. In the second stage, vacuum preloading is activated using all the PVDs. The results show that a better consolidation effect is achieved with the proposed method in terms of the settlement, vacuum pressure, pore water pressure, water content, vane shear strength, and soil particle microstructure after soil consolidation.     

化学–物理复合法在海底淤泥填海造地工程中的应用

 在凯科发展研究院多年前率先提出并倡导的采用化学–物理复合法来加快淤泥等软土的固结速度和大幅度提高其固化效果的基础上,联合中交四航工程研究院最新的真空预压技术,以珠江三角洲淤泥为例对化学处理后的高含水率淤泥进行室内三维真空预压排水模型试验,并同步进行常规的真空预压试验。试验结果表明,用真空预压法来辅助化学加固后的淤泥,在沉降速率上明显大于常规真空预压的速率;在相同的固结时间内,复合法所取得的无侧限抗压强度均远远高于单一真空预压法所取得的强度;同时在用新加坡海洋淤泥进行的相关同步试验中,复合法所取得的数倍高的抗剪强度也进一步验证该方法的有效性及优越性。因此,这个化学–物理复合法对于加固淤泥等软土地基,无论在学术上还是在大面积填海造地工程实践中均有广阔的发展和应用空间。     

Pilot tests on vacuum preloading method combined with short and long PVDs

Dredged marine clay has been widely used as a filling material for land reclamation in China. The difficulty of using the vacuum preloading method to improve the dredged marine clay together with the bottom sediment clay is the different spacing requirement of the PVDs. To solve this problem, the Vacuum Preloading method combined with the Short and Long PVDs (VPSL) is proposed in this paper. The short PVDs are installed only into the dredged marine clay layer in-between the long PVDs which are installed through the whole clay layer. Pilot tests are also conducted at a land reclamation site in Tianjin, China, to investigate the performance of the proposed method. The ground settlement, the applied vacuum pressure and the pore water pressure in the soil are monitored during the pilot tests. The average degrees of consolidation are calculated based on the monitored settlement and pore pressure data. It is found that the proposed VPSL method is more effective for improving top dredged clay together with the bottom sediment clay than the conventional vacuum preloading method. The vane shear strength profiles of soil layers after ground improvement also show that the VPSL method is more effective to achieve a uniform soil strength profile.     

Effects of temperature circulation on dredged sludge improved by vacuum preloading

Vacuum preloading is an effective and common method used for clay soil improvement. However, the smear zone generated by the installation of prefabricated vertical drain (PVD) hinders additional efficiency improvements. PVD combined with heat is applied to overcome this problem. This study presents a series of model tests conducted on clayey soil improved by vacuum preloading with different rectangular-wave temperature circulation modes to investigate the effects of cyclic temperature on vacuum consolidation. During the test, the settlement, pore-water pressure, and drainage were monitored. The degree of consolidation was analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of this method, and the coefficient of energy consumption was used to quantify the energy consumption at different cyclic temperature modes. The results indicated that the rectangular-wave temperature circulation mode of 30–75–30 °C was the most effective. The results of this study contribute substantially to the state of knowledge regarding the cyclic temperature effects on dredged slurry performance subjected to vacuum preloading. Concurrently, a novel approach is introduced for the determination of the optimal soil consolidation.     

预压作用下软土固结蠕变及微观结构试验研究

为了揭示预压荷载作用下软土路基工后沉降的机理,开展了室内模拟真空、堆载以及真空—堆载联合预压加固软土的固结蠕变三轴试验及微观结构试验。分析了在三种不同的预压作用下土体固结蠕变性状的不同和微观结构的变化机理。结果表明:在三种不同的预压荷载作用下,固结过程中,是真空—堆载联合预压条件下土体的沉降量最大,其次是堆载预压,最小的是真空预压。蠕变过程的沉降量是堆载预压的最大,其次是联合预压,最小的是真空预压。预压荷载作用下土体的固结和蠕变具有耦合效应;微观结构参数的变化受预压加载方式的影响。微观结构参数的变化率与宏观物性参数的变化率有相似的性质。     

Performance of marine clay stabilised with vacuum pressure: Based on Queensland experience

Stabilising soft marine clay and estuarine soils via vacuum preloading has become very popular in Australasia over the past decades because it is a cost-effective and time-efficient approach. In recent times, new land on areas outside but adjacent to existing port amenities, the Fisherman Islands at the Port of Brisbane(POB), was reclaimed to cater for an increase in trade activities. A vacuum preloading method combined with surcharge to stabilise the deep layers of soil was used to enhance the application of prefabricated vertical drains(PVDs). This paper describes the performance of this combined surcharge fill and vacuum system under the embankment and also compares it with a surcharge loading system to demonstrate the benefits of vacuum pressure over conventional fill. The performance of this embankment is also presented in terms of field monitoring data, and the relative performance of the vacuum together with non-vacuum systems is evaluated. An analytical solution to radial consolidation with time-dependent surcharge loading and vacuum pressure is also presented in order to predict the settlement and associated excess pore water pressure(EPWP) of deposits of thick soft clay.     

考虑板土相互作用的排水板通水特性试验研究

为研究排水板在实际工况下的通水特性,研制排水板纵向通水量测试新仪器,采用室内真空预压模型试验、堆载预压模型试验和直接充灌淤泥等方法来制作板土单元体(试样),并开展板土单元体(试样)通水能力测试。试验结果表明:无论是直接充灌淤泥法、堆载预压法还是真空预压法,高性能排水板通水量均大于现行规程试验结果,而普通排水板通水量均小于现行规程试验结果,现行规程方法高估了真空预压后普通排水板的通水能力。对比结果表明:高性能排水板在堆载预压后通水能力与真空预压后通水能力接近,而普通排水板在堆载预压后通水能力明显高于真空预压后通水能力。因此,对于变形大且固结时间长的新近吹填淤泥地基加固工程应优先选用高性能排水板。     

软土真空预压处理有效性的宏微观分析

 地基处理前分析软土宏微观性质对预测真空预压法处理的有效性具有重要意义。通过室内宏微观试验,对珠海金湾地区软土矿物成分、比表面积,以及固结前后的微观结构、孔隙特征等进行分析和研究,得出土体结合水量、强度指标等影响真空预压法处理效果的关键因素。研究结果表明,珠海金湾软土黏土矿物成分含量不高,且黏胶粒占50%,比表面积较黏土矿物小;颗粒呈曲片絮凝状叠聚体,固结变形后出现团聚现象,孔隙压密,无颗粒破碎形状变化;微孔隙尺寸分布主要为400 nm＜r＜2 500 nm,固结后试样的累积进汞量大幅减小,且大孔隙变成小孔隙。说明土体的结合水量不高,含较多的自由水,且内摩擦角变化不大,而黏聚力有较大的增长,真空预压法处理效果明显。     

Prediction of embankment behavior of regulating reservoir with foundation improved by vacuum consolidation method

The present paper addresses the numerical prediction of the behavior of a ground and a reservoir dyke with a retaining wall at the site of a regulating reservoir whose soft soil foundation is improved by using both the usual embankment preloading and vacuum consolidation. To evaluate the settlement, the lateral deformation, and the dissipation of pore pressure during vacuum preloading, a numerical analysis using an elasto-plastic FEM for soil–water coupled problems, incorporating the SYS Cam-clay model, is carried out in two dimensions. However, a change in the soil parameters during the vacuum preloading leads to a less accurate computation. To account for the uncertainties in the input parameters of the constitutive model for the improved ground, an inverse analysis approach is adopted. The particle filter is used to identify the compression index of the clay layers and the coefficient of permeability of the organic soil layer based on the measured settlement at the bottom of the preloading embankment during the vacuum consolidation. The reservoir dyke with a retaining wall is constructed on an improved foundation after removing the preloading embankment, and an attempt is made to predict its performance after construction by an elasto-plastic FEM for soil–water coupled problems using the identified parameters.     

Improving settlement and reinforcement uniformity of marine clay in electro-osmotic consolidation using microbially induced carbonate precipitation

This study explored the effect of microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), a natural bio-geotechnical process, on mitigating the uneven settlement in electro-osmotic consolidation of soft soil. The real-time drainage and settlement were measured, and the control behavior of drainage to settlement was discussed. MICP solution components were also selected as the different additives to determine the control mechanism of MICP in improving settlement and reinforcement uniformity of clay. After the tests, the chemical properties and microstructure were analyzed according to pH, conductivity, and SEM. The addition of MICP solution in clay significantly even reduced the coefficient of settlement variation by 53.2%, and the upper surface profile tended to be uniform. Contrary to control, the coefficient of settlement variation of MICP-treated soil decreased gradually with drainage volume, mainly due to the filling of solid substances such as calcium carbonate, biofilm, and/or calcium hydroxide produced within soil pores. MICP significantly improved the uneven soil reinforcement generated during the electro-osmotic consolidation but resulted in the lower strength near the anode due to the less drainage. The contribution of MICP solution components to the improvement of settlement and strength uniformity obviously varies. Bacterial cells improved the settlement uniformity but had no effect on the strength improvement of soil. The co-existence of Ca²⁺ and bacterial cells maximized the modification effect, which determined the production of mineral precipitation. Microstructure observation proved the formation of calcium carbonate. The results demonstrated that MICP is an effective technique to improve the settlement and reinforcement uniformity of marine clay in electro-osmotic consolidation.

     

排水板真空堆载预压法在大厚度软基处理中的应用

真空-堆载预压法在处理大厚度淤泥质软基上的公路差异沉降和稳定性问题中应用广泛,本文从加固机理出发,根据工程现场的监测数据对预压期间各土层的沉降、侧向位移、孔隙水压力进行了分析,认为前期真空预压时沉降主要发生在淤泥层,堆载加压后填土层沉降较大;堆载作用下淤泥层发生蠕变现象,判断其与竖向荷载大小、层间土弹性模量比及软弱层的厚度有关。另外,由于水压消散值的测定受真空和堆载联合作用而随时间变化较复杂,推荐用沉降量推算固结度。     

A pilot test on a membraneless vacuum preloading method

A membraneless vacuum preloading method is proposed in this paper for soft soil improvement. The method offers several advantages over the conventional vacuum preloading in which membrane is used to create the airtight condition and sand blanket layer to distribute vacuum. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, a pilot test was conducted at a land reclamation site in Tianjin, China. The ground settlement and the pore water pressure (PWP) at different elevations in soil were measured. After vacuum preloading, the average water content of the soft soils reduced by approximately 12% and the undrained shear strength increased twofold. The average degree of consolidation at the end of the vacuum preloading achieved 85.1% based on the settlement data and 84.5% based on the PWP data. The pilot test data have shown that the proposed method exhibits similar efficiencies to the conventional vacuum preloading method.     

沿海蚝塘回填区地基真空预压加固效果分析

结合珠海某蚝塘回填区真空预压软基处理工程,从现场监测和检测两方面分析了地基加固效果,结果表明：真空预压后,残余沉降、承载力均达到设计要求,软土各项指标明显改良,真空预压效果良好。     

软土地基孔隙水压力降低引起的压缩分析

根据土力学基本原理,分析孔隙水压力降低引起的土体压缩方式,并对真空预压地基的分层沉降现场实测值和理论计算值进行分析;同时,定量分析真空预压地基在不同深处单位压缩量。研究结果表明:(1)若按有效应力原理水土压力分开计算、地基土体中孔隙水压力降低时,土体竖向总应力维持不变而侧向总应力减小;(2)土体中孔隙水压力在相对压强小于0的范围内降低时,将引起土体等向压缩,在相对压强大于0的范围内降低时,将引起土体单向压缩;(3)南沙港区的真空预压地基若其沉降按欠固结计算时,计算值与实测值接近,自重应力欠固结引起的沉降是抽真空期间地基总沉降主要部分;(4)真空预压的加固深度随排水体深度增加而增大,土层压密效果随地层深度增加而减弱,故降低孔隙水压力法在加固软土地基中,设计排水体深度时应考虑最佳加固深度。     

软黏土二维电渗固结性状的试验研究

 利用自制的试验装置,进行轴对称条件下的饱和软黏土电渗固结试验,通过测量电渗过程中的电势、电流和排出的水量以及电渗结束后土体的沉降量和含水率分布,从电渗机制和能量消耗的角度研究土体的性状。结果表明：(1) 土体中的电势不仅与到阴极的距离有关,而且与通电时间有关。轴对称条件下电势以折线形式分布,折点在阴极附近。(2) 土体中的电场强度并不是不变的,当忽略界面电阻的影响时,它随电渗时间线性减小。(3) 在电渗的后期,土体电阻率和能量消耗急剧增加,并且存在突变点。试验证明,可以通过能耗系数曲线来控制电渗时间,减少能量消耗,提高电渗效益。     

Improvement of silty clay by vacuum preloading incorporated with electroosmotic method

A laboratory test was performed to assess the effectiveness of vacuum preloading incorporated with electroosmotic (EOM) treatment on silty clay (combined method) for reclamation projects like new disposal ponds, where the horizontal electrode configurations beneath the soil layer were possible and the drainage pipes and the prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) system could be easily installed in advance before the sludge dragged from sea bed or river bed was filled into the site. Three groups of tests were conducted on the silty clay from Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. The model is able to apply vacuum pressure at the bottom of the soil layer and a direct current electric field simultaneously. It is also possible to measure the pore pressures at different depths of soil column, and the changes in settlement and volume with the elapsed time. In this study, the vacuum preloading method, vacuum preloading applied at the bottom (VAB method), was applied and the cathodes were installed beneath the soil layer. The results obtained indicate substantial reduction in water content, and increases in dry density and undrained shear strength in comparison with those obtained by the vacuum preloading only, particularly at the positions close to the anode. The combined method utilizes the vertical drainage flow created by the electroosmosis integrating the horizontal drainage flow created mostly by the vacuum pressure. The total drainage flow can be calculated as a result of the vertical drainage flow by electroosmosis only and the horizontal drainage flow by the vacuum preloading only. The way of placement of the cathode and the anode in the combined method also overcomes the disadvantage of EOM method itself, i.e. the appearance of cracks between the anode and the surrounding soil. Moreover, it is observed that the vacuum preloading plays a primary role in earlier stage in deduction of free pore water; meanwhile, the electroosmotic method is more efficient in later stage for absorbing water in the diffused double layers o     

真空预压法加固软土地基机理相关问题的探讨

分析了真空度传递特性和影响因素,对涉及真空预压软土地基加固机理的相关热点问题进行了深入探讨,包括真空预压加固过程土体强度变化特征,加固区地下水位变化及有效加固深度,加固区边界的土体变形特征、边界水位变化及边界影响范围等,以助于更好地理解真空预压软土地基加固的机理问题。     

真空作用面位置及排水管间距对预压效果的影响

真空预压加固法作为一种软粘土的加固技术已得到广泛的应用。但是,把目前经常采用的施工技术(真空作用面位于地表)用于加固吹填土,就不十分合理。它导致投资高昂、施工期限过长等。我们认为,比较合理的方法是把真空作用面移向深处。本文介绍了以同一种土料,在同样的试验条件下所进行的模型试验,试验中比较了真空作用面位于试样底部及顶部的加固效果。此外,还比较了排水管间距对加固效果的影响。试验中测定了砂垫层内的真空度、淤泥中的真空吸力、沉降及出水量的时间过程线,还测定了试验前后的含水量变化及十字板抗剪强度的分布,并取土做三轴剪切试验测定土特性的变化。为了做出定量的比较,本文从土力学的基本原理出发,引进了固结度系数、有效应力增长系数、超孔隙压力系数比等参数。试验表明,真空作用面移向底部后,会取得较好的加固效果。此外,真空排水管间距对加固效果会有明显的影响。