Evaluating the Applicability of Biostimulated Calcium Carbonate Precipitation to Stabilize Clayey Soils
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 3
Abstract
Clayey soils with medium to high plasticity are prevalent in several parts of the world, causing billions of dollars in damage annually to various civil infrastructures. Several ground-improvement techniques can be employed to counteract this issue. However, these methods are impractical in certain situations and unsustainable in others due to their economic and environmental impacts. Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) could provide a more sustainable alternative. Researchers have successfully used MICP to alter specific geotechnical properties of sands and silts. This research investigates the applicability of MICP via biostimulation to treat clayey soils with low to high plasticity. The goal is to determine the viability of this technique to alter the engineering behavior of clayey soils, especially given the low permeability of these soils. For this purpose, four soils were selected from four different locations in Idaho and Montana. The soils were selected such that their plasticity varied from low to high to study the effect of plasticity index on the effectiveness of MICP treatments. In addition to the four soils, three additional artificial mixes were studied to study the effect of clay content on MICP effectiveness. Both macroscale and microscale studies were conducted on untreated and biostimulated soils to observe strength gain, swelling reduction, and calcium carbonate precipitation. The results show that MICP via biostimulation would be a promising method to treat problematic clayey soils.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support provided by the IDEA program of the National Co-operative Highway Research program. Special thanks are due to Dr. Inam Jawed for his continued support throughout the course of this research. Thanks are also due to John Arambarri and Keith Nottingham of the Idaho Transportation Department (District 3) for their help with sample collection and delivery. The research team would like to thank the personnel from the Idaho Microfabrication Laboratory located at Boise State University for providing the facility for doing SEM tests. The SuRGE laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering at Boise State University assisted the research team in various aspects, and the authors’ gratitude toward them would be unparalleled.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 3 • March 2020
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 6, 2018
Accepted: Jul 22, 2019
Published online: Dec 20, 2019
Published in print: Mar 1, 2020
Discussion open until: May 20, 2020
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