Abstract
Microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a novel biomediated ground improvement method that can be used to increase the shear strength and stiffness of soil. The evolution of the shear strength and stiffness of sand subjected to undrained and drained shearing is evaluated using triaxial tests. MICP treated sands with cementation levels ranging from young, uncemented sand to a highly cemented sandstonelike condition are subjected to undrained shear. A transition from strain hardening to strain softening behavior and a corresponding transition of global to localized failure as cementation is increased is observed. Moderately cemented specimens are subjected to various stress paths, which result in a change to the shear strength and volumetric behavior. Shear wave velocity is used to nondestructively monitor the change in small-strain stiffness during shearing, which provides an indication of cementation degradation as a function of strain level. Because shear wave velocity is influenced by both the level of cementation and the change in effective mean stress during shearing, the normalized shear modulus is used to evaluate the degradation of cementation during shearing.
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Acknowledgments
Funding from the National Science Foundation (#0727463 and #0830182) is appreciated. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 6 • June 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 27, 2014
Accepted: Jan 6, 2015
Published online: Feb 10, 2015
Published in print: Jun 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Jul 10, 2015
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