The Effect of Heavy Metal on the Static and Dynamic Performances of Clay Sand
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
Poisoning of soil and groundwater resources is among the current major environmental issues worldwide. One effective way to stop the spread of pollutants and improve soil’s capacity for adsorption is to use natural and inexpensive adsorbents. In this respect, the soil environment can be improved by the addition of zeolite and rice husk ash (RHA). This study examined the behavior of a sand mixture with 20% kaolinite or 20% bentonite in both uncontaminated and contaminated [with ] states. Two classes of clay minerals were considered: kaolinite and bentonite. The impact of the adsorbent on the strength performance of the contaminated soil was examined by removing 10% of the clay particles and replacing them with zeolite or RHA adsorbents. Triaxial dynamic and bender element tests were carried out to explore the dynamic behavior of contaminated soils and the liquefaction resistance of the samples polluted with , respectively. The results show that by reducing the heavy metals concentration , the ultimate strength of sand mix with 20% bentonite increased by 40%–50%. In addition, the ultimate strength increased in polluted and noncontaminated situations by adding zeolite or RHA to the soil. The results of triaxial dynamic tests demonstrated that liquefaction resistance was reduced by increasing the contamination concentrations in both the mixes without and with adsorbent. Furthermore, the initial/maximum shear modulus () decreased as the adsorbent content increased in both contaminated and noncontaminated states.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Soil Laboratory of Islamic Azad University for their support during this study.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 7, 2022
Accepted: Aug 25, 2023
Published online: Nov 3, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Apr 3, 2024
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