Contaminant Barrier Material Textural Response to Interaction with Aqueous Polymers
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 3
Abstract
An experimental investigation of the use of polymers dissolved in aqueous solutions to enhance the resistance of clay-based barrier materials to freeze-thaw action and desiccation was performed. The polymers considered included a nonionic polysaccharide (guar gum) and a cationic polyacrylamide (PAM). Concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 8.00 g/L were used and mixed with three barrier materials, namely, 100% Na-montmorillonite clay, a mixture of 70% sand, 30% clay, and a mixture of 90% sand, 10% clay (by weight). Freeze-thaw and desiccation tests were used to investigate material durability. The effects of freeze-thaw action on the materials were assessed in terms of crack measurements, while the drying rates as well as crack measurements were used to assess the influence of desiccation. The extent to which crack formation was mitigated by polymer amendment varied according to polymer type, mode of crack initiation, and clay fraction. In particular, unmodified mixtures of 70% sand and 30% clay exposed to desiccation stress resulted in crack area density values as high as 11.9% while modification with guar or PAM reduced this to 2.7 and 3.4%, respectively, as revealed by analysis of the computed tomography-generated images. Increases or reductions in performance are attributed to polymer–clay interactions and relative hydration between clay and polymer phases.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Albrecht, B. A., and Benson, C. H.(2001). “Effect of desiccation on compacted natural clays.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(1), 67–75.
Aly, S. M., and Letey, J.(1988). “Polymer and water quality effects on flocculation of montmorillonite.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 52, 1453–1458.
Aly, S. M., and Letey, J.(1990). “Physical properties of sodium-treated soil as affected by two polymers.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 54, 501–504.
Andersland, O. B., and Anderson, D. M. (1978). Geotechnical engineering for cold regions, McGraw-Hill, New York.
ASTM. (2003). “Standard test methods for measurement of hydraulic conductivity of saturated porous materials using a flexible wall permeameter.” D5084, West Conshohocken, Pa.
Bae, S., and Inyang, H. I.(2001). “Effects of various polyethylenimine solutions on desiccation of Na-montmorillonite.” J. Soil Sedim. Contam., 10(6), 675–685.
Ben-Hur, M., Malik, M., Letey, J., and Mingelgrin, U.(1992). “Adsorption of polymers on clays as affected by clay charge and structure, polymer properties, and water quality.” Soil Sci., 153(5), 349–356.
Bowders, J. J., and McClelland, S. (1994). “The effects of freeze/thaw cycles on the permeability of three compacted soils.” Hydraulic conductivity and waste contaminant transport in soil, ASTM STP 1142, D. Daniel and S. Trautwein, eds., 461–481.
Chamberlain, E. J.(1981). “Overconsolidation effects of ground freezing.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 18, 97–110.
Chamberlain, E. J., and Gow, A. J. (1979). “Effect of freezing and thawing on the permeability and structure of soils.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Ground Freezing, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hanover, N.H., 31–43.
Cohen, M. D., Olek, J., and Dolch, W. L.(1990). “Mechanism of plastic shrinkage cracking in Portland cement and Portland cement-silica fume paste and mortar.” Cem. Concr. Res., 20(1), 103–119.
Daniel, D. E., and Wu, Y. K.(1993). “Compacted clay liners and covers for arid sites.” J. Geotech. Eng., 119(2), 223–237.
Daniels, J. L., Chien, C. C., Ogunro, V. O., and Inyang, H. I.(2000). “A comparative analysis of contaminant migration models using barrier material data.” J. Soil Sedim. Contam., 9(5), 487–501.
Daniels, J. L., Inyang, H. I., Howe, G. S., and Ogunro, V. O. (1999). “Innovative use of triaxial cell permeameters for measuring the earthen barrier resistance to freeze-thaw degradation under field conditions.” Proc., Int. Symp. on High Altitude and Sensitive Ecological Environmental Geotechnology, Nanjing, PR China, 326–333.
Daniels, J. L., Inyang, H. I., and Iskandar, I.(2003). “Durability of Boston blue clay in waste containment applications.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 15(2), 144–152.
D’Appolonia, D. J.(1980). “Soil-bentonite slurry trench cutoffs.” J. Geotech. Eng. Div., Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., 106(4), 399–417.
Doll, P.(1997). “Desiccation of mineral liners below landfills with heat generation.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 123(11), 1001–1009.
Fang, H. Y. (1994). “Cracking and fracture behavior of soil.” Proc., Fracture Mechanics Applied to Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE, New York, 102–117.
Farouki, O. T. (1981). “Thermal properties of soils.” Monograph 81-1, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
Fleming, L. N., and Inyang, H. I.(1995). “Permeability of clay-modified fly ash under thermal gradients.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 7(3), 178–182.
Greenland, D. J., Lindstrom, G. R., and Quirk, J. P.(1962). “Organic materials which stabilize natural soil aggregates.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 26, 366–371.
Gu, B., and Doner, H. E.(1992). “The interaction of polysaccharides with silver hill illite.” Clays Clay Miner., 40(2), 151–156.
Harris, R. F., Allen, O. N., Chesters, G., and Attoe, O. J.(1963). “Evaluation of microbial activity in soil aggregate stabilization and degradation by the use of artificial aggregates.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 27, 542–546.
Haug, M. D., and Boldt-Leppin, B. (1994). “Influence of polymers on the hydraulic conductivity of marginal quality bentonite-sand mixtures.” Hydraulic conductivity and waste contaminant transport in soil, ASTM STP 1142, D. Daniel and S. Trautwein, eds., 407–438.
Hewitt, R. D., and Daniel, D. E.(1997). “Hydraulic conductivity of geosynthetic clay liners after freeze-thaw.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 123(4), 305–313.
Hillel, D. (1998). Environmental soil physics, Academic, San Diego.
Holtz, R. D., and Kovacs, W. D. (1981). Introduction to geotechnical engineering, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Inyang, H. I. (1994). “A Weibull-based reliability analysis of waste containment systems.” Proc., 1st Int. Congress on Environmental Geotechnics, Alberta, Canada, 273–278.
Inyang, H. I., Daniels, J. L., and Chien, C. C. (2000). “Methods of analysis of contaminant migration in barrier materials.” Remediation of hazardous waste contaminated soils, 2nd Ed., Wise et al., eds., 63–82.
Kim, W.-H., and Daniel, D. E.(1992). “Effects of freezing on hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay.” J. Geotech. Eng., 118(7), 1083–1097.
Kleppe, J. H., and Olson, R. E. (1985). “Desiccation cracking of soil barriers.” Hydraulic barriers in soil and rock, ASTM STP 874, A. J. Johnson, R. K. Frobel, N. J. Cavallis, and C. B. Peterson, eds., ASTM, Philadelphia, 263–275.
Konrad, J.-M.(1989). “Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on the freezing characteristics of a clayey silt at various overconsolidation ratios.” Can. Geotech. J., 26(2), 217–226.
Kraus, J. F., and Benson, C. H. (1995). “Effect of freeze-thaw on the hydraulic conductivity of barrier materials: Laboratory and field evaluation.” EPA/600/SR-95/118, Project Summary, USEPA, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati.
Kraus, J. F., Benson, C. H., Erickson, A. E., and Chamberlain, E. J.(1997). “Freeze-thaw cycling and hydraulic conductivity of bentonitic barriers.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 123(3), 229–238.
Lambe, T. W., and Kaplar, C. W. (1971). “Additives for modifying the frost susceptibility of soils, Part I.” Technical Rep. 123, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
Lambe, T. W., Kaplar, C. W., and Lambie, T. J. (1971). “Additives for modifying the frost susceptibility of soils, Part II.” Technical Rep. 123, USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
LaPlante, C. M., and Zimmie, T. F. (1993). “Freeze/thaw effects on the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays.” Transportation Research Record No. 1369, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 126–129.
Lo, I. M. C., and Yang, X.(2001). “Use of organoclay as secondary containment for gasoline storage tanks.” J. Environ. Eng., 127(2), 154–161.
Miller, E. E. (1980). “Similitude and scaling of soil-water phenomena.” Applications in soil physics, D. Hillel, ed., Academic, New York, 300–318.
Mitchell, J. K. (1993). Fundamentals of soil behavior, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Morris, P. H., Graham, J., and Williams, D. J.(1992). “Cracking in drying soils.” Can. Geotech. J., 29, 263–277.
Murray, R. S., and Quirk, J. P.(1990). “Surface area of clays.” Langmuir, 6, 122–124.
Othman, M. A., and Benson, C. H. (1992). “Effect of freeze-thaw on the hydraulic conductivity of three compacted clays from Wisconsin.” Transportation Research Record 1369, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 118–129.
Othman, M. A., Benson, C. H., Chamberlain, E. J., and Zimmie, T. F. (1994). “Laboratory testing to evaluate changes in hydraulic conductivity of compacted clays caused by freeze-thaw: State-of-the-art.” Hydraulic conductivity and waste contaminant transport in soil, ASTM STP 1142, D. Daniel and S. Trautwein, eds., 227–254.
Penner, E. (1959). “The mechanism of frost heaving in soils.” Highw. Res. Board Bull. 225, 1–13.
Qian, X., Koerner, R. M., and Gray, D. H. (2002). Geotechnical aspects of landfill design and construction, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
Remy, M. J., Coelho, A. C. V., and Poncelet, G.(1996). “Surface area and microporosity of 1.8 nm pillared clays from the nitrogen adsorption isotherm.” Microporous Mater., 7, 287–297.
Ruehrwein, R. A., and Ward, D. W.(1952). “Mechanism of clay aggregation by polyelectrolytes.” Soil Sci., 73, 485–492.
Rutherford, D. W., Chiou, C. T., and Eberl, D. D.(1997). “Effects of exchanged cation on the microporosity of montmorillonite.” Clays Clay Miner., 45(4), 534–543.
Sharma, H. D., and Lewis, S. P. (1994). Waste containment systems, waste stabilization and landfills. Design and evaluation, Wiley, New York.
Shear, D. L., Olsen, H. W., and Nelson, K. R. (1993). “Effects of desiccation on the hydraulic conductivity versus void ratio relationship for a natural clay.” Transportation Research Record 1369, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 130–135.
Shi, B., Murakami, Y., Wu, Z., Chen, J., and Inyang, H.(1999). “Monitoring of internal failure evolution in soils using computerization x-ray tomography.” Eng. Geol. (Amsterdam), 54, 321–328.
Sojka, R. E., Lentz, R. D., and Westermann, D. T.(1998). “Water and erosion management with multiple applications of polyacrylamide in furrow irrigation.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 62, 1672–1680.
Stokes, R. J., and Evans, D. F. (1997). Fundamentals of interfacial engineering, Wiley-VCH, New York.
Stumm, W. (1992). Chemistry of the solid-water interface, Wiley, New York.
Taber, S.(1929). “Frost heaving.” J. Geol., 37, 428–461.
Theng, B. K. G.(1970). “Interactions of clay minerals with organic polymers. Some practical applications.” Clays Clay Miner., 18, 357–362.
Theng, B. K. G.(1982). “Clay-polymer interactions: Summary and perspectives.” Clays Clay Miner., 30(1), 1–10.
Tyutyunov, I. A. (1963). “Phase transformations of water in soils and the nature of migration and heaving.” Proc., 1st Int. Permafrost Conf., Lafayette, Ind., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hanover, N.H., 234–239.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). (2000). “RCRA, Superfund & EPCRA hotline training module. Introduction to: Municipal solid waste disposal facility criteria.” EPA530-R-99-066, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
Work, D. V. (1999). “Textural analysis for quantification of contaminant flow channels in high pressure diaphragm jet-grouted sands.” MS thesis, Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell, Mass.
Zimmie, T. F., and LaPlante, C. (1990). “The effect of freeze/thaw cycles on the permeability of a fine-grained soil.” Proc., 22nd Mid-Atlantic Industrial Waste Conf., Drexel University, Philadelphia, 580–593.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 16 • Issue 3 • June 2004
Pages: 265 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 21, 2002
Accepted: Jul 31, 2003
Published online: May 14, 2004
Published in print: Jun 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.