Microbially Induced Cementation to Control Sand Response to Undrained Shear
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 11
Abstract
Current methods to improve the engineering properties of sands are diverse with respect to methodology, treatment uniformity, cost, environmental impact, site accessibility requirements, etc. All of these methods have benefits and drawbacks, and there continues to be a need to explore new possibilities of soil improvement, particularly as suitable land for development becomes more scarce. This paper presents the results of a study in which natural microbial biological processes were used to engineer a cemented soil matrix within initially loose, collapsible sand. Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) was achieved using the microorganism Bacillus pasteurii, an aerobic bacterium pervasive in natural soil deposits. The microbes were introduced to the sand specimens in a liquid growth medium amended with urea and a dissolved calcium source. Subsequent cementation treatments were passed through the specimen to increase the cementation level of the sand particle matrix. The results of both MICP- and gypsum-cemented specimens were assessed nondestructively by measuring the shear wave velocity with bender elements. A series of isotropically consolidated undrained compression (CIUC) triaxial tests indicate that the MICP-treated specimens exhibit a noncollapse strain softening shear behavior, with a higher initial shear stiffness and ultimate shear capacity than untreated loose specimens. This behavior is similar to that of the gypsum-cemented specimens, which represent typical cemented sand behavior. SEM microscopy verified formation of a cemented sand matrix with a concentration of precipitated calcite forming bonds at particle-particle contacts. X-ray compositional mapping confirmed that the observed cement bonds were comprised of calcite.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to acknowledge the support of Haley and Aldrich, and of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in performing the research and the Perrell Graduate Fellowship to support Mr. Fritzges’s graduate studies. In addition, this work was supported by a Biogeosciences Program grant to K. N. from the National Science Foundation (EAR-0433766). The technical support provided by Dr. Don DeGroot and Melissa Landon regarding bender elements and the equipment fabrication provided by Rick Miastkowski are greatly appreciated. The writers are grateful for specimen preparation and assistance with the SEM/ElectronMicroprobe observation by Dr. Michael Jercinovic in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Finally, input from Tom Sheahan, Ross Boulanger, and David Frost, as well as the reviewers, is greatly appreciated.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 11 • November 2006
Pages: 1381 - 1392
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2005
Accepted: May 6, 2006
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006
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