Suppressing Drought-Induced Soil Desiccation Cracking Using MICP: Field Demonstration and Insights
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 3
Abstract
As a common natural phenomenon in clayey soil, drought-induced desiccation cracks impose danger to soil structures by degrading soil mechanical strength and hydraulic properties. In this study, through a series of field tests, we evaluated the effect of microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technology on the suppression of desiccation cracks in field clayey soil and examined the impacts of MICP treatment methods (two-phase and one-phase methods) and cementation solution (CS) concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 M) on soil desiccation cracking behaviors and soil microstructure variation. The results revealed that MICP is capable of suppressing desiccation cracks in field soil. The surface crack ratio, average crack width, total crack length, and average crack depth decreased with the increase of treatment cycles and CS concentration. The two-phase MICP method performed better on soil crack suppression than the one-phase MICP method. Further distribution and soil microstructure characterizations indicated that the crystals generated by the MICP process contributed dominantly to the soil crack suppression by filling crack space, bonding soil particles, and reducing soil water evaporation. This study demonstrates that MICP is expected to serve as an eco-friendly and sustainable technology for soil desiccation crack suppression at the field scale.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data in this study are available online (https://doi.org/10.17632/4fw5z9xsck.1).
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41925012, 42230710, and 42007244), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20211087), and Key Laboratory Cooperation Special Project of Western Cross Team of Western Light, CAS (Grant No. xbzg-zdsys-202107).
References
Achal, V., A. Mukerjee, and M. Sudhakara Reddy. 2013. “Biogenic treatment improves the durability and remediates the cracks of concrete structures.” Constr. Build. Mater. 48 (Nov): 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.06.061.
Albrecht, B. A., and C. H. Benson. 2001. “Effect of desiccation on compacted natural clays.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (1): 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:1(67).
ASTM. 2011. Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system). ASTM D2487-11. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Bell, F. G. 1996. “Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils.” Eng. Geol. 42 (4): 223–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-7952(96)00028-2.
Boivin, P., P. Garnier, and D. Tessier. 2004. “Relationship between clay content, clay type, and shrinkage properties of soil samples.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68 (4): 1145–1153. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2004.1145.
Boynton, S. S., and D. E. Daniel. 1985. “Hydraulic conductivity tests on compacted clay.” J. Geotech. Eng. 111 (Nov): 465–478. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1985)111:4(465).
Cheng, L., and R. Cord-Ruwisch. 2012. “In situ soil cementation with ureolytic bacteria by surface percolation.” Ecol. Eng. 42 (May): 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.01.013.
Cheng, L., M. A. Shahin, and J. Chu. 2018. “Soil bio-cementation using a new one-phase low-pH injection method.” Acta Geotech. 14 (Jun): 615–626. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440-018-0738-2.
Cheng, L., M. A. Shahin, and D. Mujah. 2017. “Influence of key environmental conditions on microbially induced cementation for soil stabilization.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (1): 04016083. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001586.
Chu, J., V. Stabnikov, and V. Ivanov. 2012. “Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation on surface or in the bulk of soil.” Geomicrobiol. J. 29 (6): 544–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2011.592929.
Cui, Y. J., Y. F. Lu, P. Delage, and M. Riffard. 2005. “Field simulation of in situ water content and temperature changes due to ground–atmospheric interactions.” Géotechnique 55 (7): 557–567. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2005.55.7.557.
Cuthbert, M. O., L. A. McMillan, S. Handley-Sidhu, M. S. Riley, D. J. Tobler, and V. R. Phoenix. 2013. “A field and modeling study of fractured rock permeability reduction using microbially induced calcite precipitation.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (23): 13637–13643. https://doi.org/10.1021/es402601g.
DeJong, J. T., et al. 2013. “Biogeochemical processes and geotechnical applications: Progress, opportunities and challenges.” Géotechnique 63 (Mar): 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.SIP13.P.017.
DeJong, J. T., B. M. Mortensen, B. C. Martinez, and D. C. Nelson. 2010. “Bio-mediated soil improvement.” Ecol. Eng. 36 (Mar): 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.12.029.
Fujita, Y., F. G. Ferris, R. D. Lawson, F. S. Colwell, and R. W. Smith. 2011. “Subscribed content calcium carbonate precipitation by ureolytic subsurface bacteria.” Geomicrobiol. J. 17 (4): 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/782198884.
Fujita, Y., J. L. Taylor, T. L. T. Gresham, M. E. Delwiche, F. S. Colwell, T. L. McLing, L. M. Petzke, and R. W. Smith. 2008. “Stimulation of microbial urea hydrolysis in groundwater to enhance calcite precipitation.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (Mar): 3025–3032. https://doi.org/10.1021/es702643g.
Garakani, A. A., S. M. Haeri, D. Y. Cherati, F. A. Givi, M. K. Tadi, A. H. Hashemi, N. Chiti, and F. Qahremani. 2018. “Effect of road salts on the hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated collapsible soils.” Transp. Geotech. 17 (Dec): 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2018.09.005.
Hallett, P. D., A. R. Dexter, and S. Yoshida. 2013. “A history of understanding crack propagation and the tensile strength of soil.” In Quantifying and modeling soil structure dynamics, 93–119. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.2134/advagricsystmodel3.c5.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2021. “The physical science basis.” In Proc., Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by V. Masson-Delmotte, 2391. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157896.
Jiang, N.-J., C.-S. Tang, L.-Y. Yin, Y.-H. Xie, and B. Shi. 2019. “Applicability of microbial calcification method for sandy-slope surface erosion control.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 31 (11): 04019250. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002897.
Lauchnor, E. G., L. N. Schultz, S. Bugni, A. C. Mitchell, A. B. Cunningham, and R. Gerlach. 2013. “Bacterially induced calcium carbonate precipitation and strontium coprecipitation in a porous media flow system.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (Mar): 1557–1564. https://doi.org/10.1021/es304240y.
Li, J. H., and L. M. Zhang. 2011. “Study of desiccation crack initiation and development at ground surface.” Eng. Geol. 123 (4): 347–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2011.09.015.
Liu, B., C.-S. Tang, X.-H. Pan, C. Zhu, Y.-J. Cheng, J.-J. Xu, and B. Shi. 2021a. “Potential drought mitigation through microbial induced calcite precipitation-MICP.” Water Resour. Res. 57 (9): e2020WR029434. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029434.
Liu, B., Y.-H. Xie, C.-S. Tang, X.-H. Pan, N.-J. Jiang, D. N. Singh, Y.-J. Cheng, and B. Shi. 2021b. “Bio-mediated method for improving surface erosion resistance of clayey soils.” Eng. Geol. 293 (Nov): 106295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2021.106295.
Liu, B., C. Zhu, C.-S. Tang, Y.-H. Xie, L.-Y. Yin, Q. Cheng, and B. Shi. 2020. “Bio-suppression of desiccation cracking in clayey soils through microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP).” Eng. Geol. 264 (Mar): 105389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2019.105389.
Lv, C., C.-S. Tang, C. Zhu, W.-Q. Li, T.-Y. Chen, L. Zhao, and X.-H. Pan. 2022. “Environmental dependence of microbially induced calcium carbonate crystal precipitations: Experimental evidence and insights.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 148 (7): 04022050. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002827.
Miller, C. J., H. Mi, and N. Yesiller. 1998. “Experimental analysis of desiccation crack propagation in clay liners.” JAWRA J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 34 (Mar): 677–686. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1998.tb00964.x.
Miller, C. J., and S. Rifai. 2004. “Fiber reinforcement for waste containment soil liners.” J. Environ. Eng. 130 (Sep): 891–895. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2004)130:8(891).
Minto, J. M., E. MacLachlan, G. El Mountassir, and R. J. Lunn. 2016. “Rock fracture grouting with microbially induced carbonate precipitation.” Water Resour. Res. 52 (Mar): 8827–8844. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR018884.
Morris, P. H., J. Graham, and D. J. Williams. 1992. “Cracking in drying soils.” Can. Geotech. J. 29 (Mar): 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1139/t92-030.
Nelson, J. D., and D. J. Miller. 1992. Expansive soils: Problems and practice in foundation and pavement engineering. New York: Wiley.
Omidi, G. H., T. V. Prasad, J. C. Thomas, and K. W. Brown. 1996. “The influence of amendments on the volumetric shrinkage and integrity of compacted clay soils used in landfill liners.” Water Air Soil Pollut. 86 (Jan): 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279161.
Phillips, A. J., E. Lauchnor, J. J. Eldring, R. Esposito, A. C. Mitchell, R. Gerlach, A. B. Cunningham, and L. H. Spangler. 2013. “Potential leakage reduction through biofilm-induced calcium carbonate precipitation.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 47 (Mar): 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1021/es301294q.
Puppala, A. J., S. P. Pokala, N. Intharasombat, and R. Williammee. 2007. “Effects of organic matter on physical, strength, and volume change properties of compost amended expansive clay.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 133 (11): 1449–1461. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:11(1449).
Reddy, N. G., J. Tahasildar, and B. H. Rao. 2015. “Evaluating the influence of additives on swelling characteristics of expansive soils.” Int. J. Geosynth. Ground Eng. 1 (Mar): 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-015-0010-x.
Romero, E. 2013. “A microstructural insight into compacted clayey soils and their hydraulic properties.” Eng. Geol. 165 (Mar): 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.05.024.
Sahrawat, K. L. 1984. “Effects of temperature and moisture on urease activity in semi-arid tropical soils.” Plant Soil 78 (Mar): 401–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02450373.
Salifu, E., E. MacLachlan, K. R. Iyer, C. W. Knapp, and A. Tarantino. 2016. “Application of microbially induced calcite precipitation in erosion mitigation and stabilisation of sandy soil foreshore slopes: A preliminary investigation.” Eng. Geol. 201 (Feb): 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.12.027.
Senior, R. B. 1981. “Tensile strength, tension cracks, and stability of slopes.” Soils Found. 21 (Jun): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3208/sandf1972.21.2_1.
Silvestri, V., G. Sarkis, N. Bekkouche, and M. Soulie. 1992. “Evapotranspiration, trees and damage to foundations in sensitive clays.” In Proc., 43rd Canadian Geotechnical Conf. Part 2, 533–538. Ottawa: Canadian Science Publishing.
Steinberg, M. L. 1998. Geomembranes and the control of expansive soils in construction. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Taboada, M. A., O. A. Barbosa, and D. J. Cosentino. 2008. “Null creation of air-filled structural pores by soil cracking and shrinkage in silty loamy soils.” Soil Sci. 173 (2): 130–142. https://doi.org/10.1097/SS.0b013e31815d8e9d.
Tang, C., B. Shi, C. Liu, L. Zhao, and B. Wang. 2008. “Influencing factors of geometrical structure of surface shrinkage cracks in clayey soils.” Eng. Geol. 101 (3–4): 204–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2008.05.005.
Tang, C. S., Y. J. Cui, B. Shi, A. M. Tang, and C. Liu. 2011. “Desiccation and cracking behaviour of clay layer from slurry state under wetting–drying cycles.” Geoderma 166 (1): 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2011.07.018.
Tang, C. S., Y. J. Cui, A. M. Tang, and B. Shi. 2010. “Experiment evidence on the temperature dependence of desiccation cracking behavior of clayey soils.” Eng. Geol. 114 (3–4): 261–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2010.05.003.
Tang, C. S., B. Shi, Y. J. Cui, C. Liu, and K. Gu. 2012. “Desiccation cracking behavior of polypropylene fiber–reinforced clayey soil.” Can. Geotech. J. 49 (9): 1088–1101. https://doi.org/10.1139/t2012-067.
Tang, C. S., C. Zhu, Q. Cheng, H. Zeng, J. J. Xu, B. G. Tian, and B. Shi. 2021. “Desiccation cracking of soils: A review of investigation approaches, underlying mechanisms, and influencing factors.” Earth-Sci. Rev. 216: 103586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103586.
Terzis, D., R. Bernier-Latmani, and L. Laloui. 2016. “Fabric characteristics and mechanical response of bio-improved sand to various treatment conditions.” Géotech. Lett. 6 (Mar): 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.15.00134.
Thusyanthan, N. I., W. A. Take, S. P. G. Madabhushi, and M. D. Bolton. 2007. “Crack initiation in clay observed in beam bending.” Géotechnique 57 (7): 581–594. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.2007.57.7.581.
Vail, M., C. Zhu, C. S. Tang, N. Maute, and M. T. Montalbo-Lomboy. 2020. “Desiccation cracking behavior of clayey soils treated with biocement and bottom ash admixture during wetting–drying cycles.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2674 (8): 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120924409.
Velde, B. 1999. “Structure of surface cracks in soil and muds.” Geoderma 93 (1–2): 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(99)00047-6.
Wang, X., H. Lu, H. Zhang, J. Wu, X. Hou, Y. Fu, and J. Geng. 2018. “Distribution, provenance, and onset of the Xiashu loess in southeast China with paleoclimatic implications.” J. Asian Earth Sci. 155 (Apr): 180–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.11.022.
Whiffin, V. S., L. A. van Paassen, and M. P. Harkes. 2007. “Microbial carbonate precipitation as a soil improvement technique.” Geomicrobiol. J. 24 (5): 417–423. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490450701436505.
WMO (World Meteorological Organization). 1994. Guide to hydrological practices, data acquisition and processing, analyzing, forecasting and other applications. 5th ed.. Geneva: WMO.
Xu, J. J., C. S. Tang, Q. Cheng, F. Vahedifard, B. Liu, and B. Shi. 2022. “Monitoring and early detection of soil desiccation cracking using distributed fibre optical sensing.” Géotechnique 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgeot.21.00397.
Zhang, Y., K. Gu, J. Li, C. Tang, Z. Shen, and B. Shi. 2020. “Effect of biochar on desiccation cracking characteristics of clayey soils.” Geoderma 364 (Apr): 114182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114182.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 3 • March 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 12, 2023
Accepted: Nov 3, 2023
Published online: Jan 11, 2024
Published in print: Mar 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 11, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Clays
- Continuum mechanics
- Cracking
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Field tests
- Fracture mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Materials engineering
- Pollution
- Soil cement
- Soil mechanics
- Soil pollution
- Soil properties
- Soil strength
- Soil treatment
- Soil water
- Soils (by type)
- Solid mechanics
- Tests (by type)
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.