Rapid Treatment of Mud Slurry Using a Vacuum-Assisted PHD and Solidification Combined Method
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23, Issue 9
Abstract
Mud slurries are characterized by high water content and low strength; therefore, treatment (which included volume reduction and strength improvement in this study) was required before they could be transported, handled, and reused more easily. This study presented a method that combined prefabricated horizontal drains, vacuum preloading, and solidification (PHDVPS) for the rapid treatment of mud slurry with high water content. The performance of the PHDVPS method was experimentally investigated and compared with traditional methods that used only vacuum preloading or only solidification. Settlement and the mass of the discharged water (mvw) were monitored in model tests to investigate the dewatering efficiency (i.e., volume reduction). Then, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical, hydraulic, and microstructural properties of the PHDVPS-treated soils. The results indicated that the PHDVPS method significantly outperformed the traditional vacuum preloading and direct solidification methods for volume reduction and strength improvement. In addition, parametric studies indicated that the initial water content (wo) of mud slurry, cement content (Aw), duration of vacuum preloading (tp), and magnitude of vacuum pressure (σvp) had a significant influence on the performance of the PHDVPS method.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support for this investigation was provided by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC1806000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51878312 and 52078235), the State Key Laboratory for GeoMechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology (Grant No. SKLGDUEK1907), and the Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute Open Research Program (Grant No. CKWV2019730/KY). This support is gratefully acknowledged.
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International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 23 • Issue 9 • September 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 17, 2022
Accepted: Feb 20, 2023
Published online: Jun 16, 2023
Published in print: Sep 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 16, 2023
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