Hydraulic Conductivity and Compressibility of Soil-Bentonite Backfill Amended with Activated Carbon
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 5
Abstract
Flexible-wall permeability tests and rigid-wall consolidation/permeability tests were performed to evaluate the hydraulic conductivity and compressibility of a model soil-bentonite (SB) backfill amended with granular activated carbon (GAC) or powdered activated carbon (PAC). The tests were performed as part of an assessment of enhanced SB backfill with improved attenuation capacity for greater longevity of barrier containment performance. Backfill specimens containing fine sand, 5.8% sodium bentonite, and GAC or PAC (0, 2, 5, and 10% by dry weight) were prepared to target slumps of . Hydraulic conductivity and compressibility of backfill test specimens were measured in consolidometers as a function of effective stress, , whereas flexible-wall was measured for backfill specimens consolidated to . The results indicate that addition of GAC has little impact on the hydraulic and consolidation properties of the backfill, whereas addition of PAC causes a decrease in and consolidation coefficient and a slight increase in compression index . Differences in behavior between GAC-amended backfills and PAC-amended backfills are attributed primarily to differences in GAC and PAC particle size.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Grant No. NSFCMS-0625159. The opinions and recommendations provided in this paper are solely those of the writers and are not necessarily consistent with the policies of NSF. The writers thank Central Builders Supply (Lewisburg, Pa.) and Wyo-Ben (Billings, Mont.) for donating materials used in this study.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 5 • May 2009
Pages: 664 - 672
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 5, 2008
Accepted: Jul 3, 2008
Published online: May 1, 2009
Published in print: May 2009
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