Various Bacterial Attachment Functions and Modeling of Biomass Distribution in MICP Implementations
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 9
Abstract
Microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) offers a robust technique to improve strength and stiffness properties of subsurface soils supporting infrastructures. Several unknown factors, including the MICP reactive transport parameters, however, limit the ability to predict spatial distribution of calcium carbonate () precipitation within a subsurface area and with depth. As it was shown that calcium carbonate distribution is highly affected by biomass profiles in subdomains, five bacteria attachment models (constant-rate, power-law, exponential, gamma distribution, and “ based on colloid attachment theory”) were calibrated here using data from both small- and large-scale testing programs. Out of the five models, colloid attachment theory with modified velocity and straining terms was shown to be the most promising approach in yielding the most fitted distribution compared with the experimental data. A new parameter, , was incorporated to modify straining and the constraint peak value of biomass attachment due to straining at distances larger than a . Using the results from the numerical simulations, relationships were developed for velocity and straining coefficients of “the based on colloid attachment theory” (hereafter “colloid attachment ”) as a function of bacteria size, soil particle size, sample size, volume of injected bacteria, and soil pore volume.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of North Carolina State University. The authors would like to thank Dr. Jinung Do for his continuous support with providing experimental data. Also, the authors thank the COMSOL support center for their technical support with the model development.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 9 • September 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 16, 2022
Accepted: Feb 28, 2023
Published online: Jun 16, 2023
Published in print: Sep 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 16, 2023
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