Laboratory Evaluation of Smear Zone and Correlation between Permeability and Moisture Content
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 7
Abstract
In this study, the extent of the smear zone and the reduction of permeability and water content within the smear zone were investigated using a large-scale consolidometer. The installation of vertical drains by means of a mandrel causes significant disturbance of the subsoil surrounding the mandrel, resulting in a smear zone. The extent of the smear zone for Moruya clay (New South Wales, Australia) was estimated on the basis of normalized permeability and the reduction of water content by taking undisturbed samples (horizontally and vertically) at different locations. This study reveals that a significant reduction in water content and horizontal permeability takes place towards the drain, whereas the variation in the vertical permeability is negligible. The smear zone for Moruya clay was found to be 2.5 times the equivalent radius of the mandrel with the horizontal permeability varying from 1.09 to 1.64, an average of 1.34 times smaller than that of the undisturbed zone. Finally, a correlation between the permeability decrease and water content reduction within smear zone is proposed.
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References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 7 • July 2006
Pages: 942 - 945
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 21, 2005
Accepted: Dec 7, 2005
Published online: Jul 1, 2006
Published in print: Jul 2006
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