Porosity Fluctuations in Desiccating Samples of Grout-Stabilized Soil
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 2
Abstract
Contaminant migration from polluted sites that are excessively permeable to fluids can be minimized by ground stabilization through grouting with cementitious materials. Analyses of the long term drying process of 2.75 mm diameter samples of cement–bentonite grouted soils from Dover, Del. in an environmental chamber maintained at a temperature of 25°C and relative humidity of 30% indicate that for most samples, the water-filled porosity (0.02–0.033) varied in a quasi-sinusoidal pattern with respect to drying time. Measurements of ultrasonic wave transit time with a James V-Meter correlated in time, with moisture loss determinations by weight loss measurements, show that in the initial 0–65 day drying period, the escape of moisture and consequent increase in air-filled porosity is responsible for the decrease in ultrasonic pulse velocity. Thereafter, increases in pulse velocity values ranging from 50 to observed for the reaction products at sustained drying at 25°C, provide enough activation energy for continuation of cement hydration and cement–bentonite reactions. Continuation of drying beyond reasonably complete moisture loss, to 200 days, generally produced decreases in pulse velocity that are herein attributed to microcracking. These observations are significant with respect to long-term barrier integrity in the vadose zone where variations in moisture content and temperature increase the opportunity for the desiccation of subsurface barriers of waste containment systems.
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Acknowledgments
This research was performed using resources provided to the primary writer at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell by Sandia National Laboratories. This analysis was performed as part of the grouting technology effectiveness demonstration project at the Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and Technology, DuPont Engineering and the U.S. Air Force/Armstrong Laboratories. Additional support was provided by Duke Energy Corporation for this work at the Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems (GIEES) of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The sponsors do not necessarily endorse the results of this work. The writers are grateful to the sponsors for their support.DOE
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 2 • April 2006
Pages: 267 - 271
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 11, 2005
Accepted: Jul 29, 2005
Published online: Apr 1, 2006
Published in print: Apr 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Hilary I. Inyang
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