Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Confined Granular Systems Stabilized by Bacterial Cementation
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21, Issue 1
Abstract
Bacterial cementation is a relatively new technology for stabilization of granular systems where cementation happens incrementally with repeated injection of the cementation fluid through the pores of the granular media. The mechanical performance of the bacterially cemented systems is critically dependent on the spatial and temporal variations of the precipitated cement. Numerical models proposed hitherto for mechanical behavior of bacterial cementation have assumed simple homogenized cementation. This paper investigates mechanical characteristics of bacterially cemented granular materials with a view to developing reliable numerical models that incorporate the spatial and temporal variations in cementation. The numerical models are validated by controlled experiments. Sand columns have been cemented to various degrees using a bacterial system. The degree of cementation was estimated by scanning electron microscopy. Triaxial compression tests have been conducted by varying the hydrostatic pressure. A multiscale numerical model is developed to simulate the mechanical response of the cemented system. The numerical results show good agreement with the experimental observations.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Achal, V., and A. Mukherjee. 2015. “A review of microbial precipitation for sustainable construction.” Constr. Build. Mater. 93: 1224–1235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.04.051.
Bardet, J. P. 1994. “Observations on the effects of particle rotations on the failure of idealized granular materials.” Mech. Mater. 18 (2): 159–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6636(94)00006-9.
Bardet, J. P., and J. Proubet. 1991. “Numerical investigation of the structure of persistent shear bands in granular media.” Géotechnique 41 (4): 599–613. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1991.41.4.599.
Barkouki, T. H., B. C. Martinez, B. M. Mortensen, T. S. Weathers, J. D. De Jong, T. R. Ginn, N. F. Spycher, R. W. Smith, and Y. Fujita. 2011. “Forward and inverse bio-geochemical modeling of microbially induced calcite precipitation in half-meter column experiments.” Transp. Porous Media 90 (1): 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-011-9804-z.
Belheine, N., J.-P. Plassiard, F.-V. Donzé, F. Darve, and A. Seridi. 2009. “Numerical simulation of drained triaxial test using 3D discrete element modeling.” Comput. Geotech. 36 (1–2): 320–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2008.02.003.
Cheng, L., M. A. Shahin, and R. Cord-Ruwisch. 2014. “Bio-cementation of sandy soil using microbially induced carbonate precipitation for marine environments.” Géotechnique 64 (12): 1010–1013. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.14.T.025.
Chou, K.-C. 2011. “Some remarks on protein attribute prediction and pseudo amino acid composition.” J. Theor. Biol. 273 (1): 236–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.12.024.
DeJong, J. T., M. B. Fritzges, and K. Nüsslein. 2006. “Microbially induced cementation to control sand response to undrained shear.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (11): 1381–1392. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2006)132:11(1381).
DeJong, J. T., B. M. Mortensen, B. C. Martinez, and D. C. Nelson. 2010. “Bio-mediated soil improvement.” Ecol. Eng. 36 (2): 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.12.029.
DeJong, J. T., K. Soga, S. A. Banwart, W. R. Whalley, T. R. Ginn, D. C. Nelson, B. M. Mortensen, B. C. Martinez, and T. Barkouki. 2011. “Soil engineering in vivo: Harnessing natural biogeochemical systems for sustainable, multi-functional engineering solutions.” J. R. Soc. Interface 8 (54): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2010.0270.
Díaz-Rodríguez, J., and J. López-Molina. 2008. “Strain thresholds in soil dynamics.” In Proc., 14th World Conf. on Earthquake Engineering, 12–17. Tokyo, Japan: International Association For Earthquake Engineering (IAEE).
Dvorkin, J., A. Nur, and H. Yin. 1994. “Effective properties of cemented granular materials.” Mech. Mater. 18 (4): 351–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6636(94)90044-2.
Estrada, N., A. Lizcano, and A. Taboada. 2010. “Simulation of cemented granular materials. I. macroscopic stress-strain response and strain localization.” Phys. Rev. E 82 (1): 011303. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.82.011303.
Evans, T. M., A. Khoubani, and B. M. Montoya. 2015. “Simulating mechanical response in bio-cemented sands.” In Proc., 14th Int. Conf. of Int. Association for Computer Methods and Recent Advances in Geomechanics, 1569–1574. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis Books.
Fauriel, S., and L. Laloui. 2012. “A bio-chemo-hydro-mechanical model for microbially induced calcite precipitation in soils.” Comput. Geotech. 46: 104–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2012.05.017.
Feng, K., and B. M. Montoya. 2016. “Influence of confinement and cementation level on the behavior of microbial-induced calcite precipitated sands under monotonic drained loading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 142 (1): 04015057. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001379.
Huang, J. T., and D. W. Airey. 1998. “Properties of artificially cemented carbonate sand.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 124 (6): 492–499. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(1998)124:6(492).
Ismail, M. A., H. A. Joer, W. H. Sim, and M. F. Randolph. 2002. “Effect of cement type on shear behavior of cemented calcareous soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 128 (6): 520–529. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2002)128:6(520).
Iwashita, K., and M. Oda. 1998. “Rolling resistance at contacts in simulation of shear band development by DEM.” J. Eng. Mech. 124 (3): 285–292. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(1998)124:3(285).
Jiang, M., H.-S. Yu, and D. Harris. 2005a. “A novel discrete model for granular material incorporating rolling resistance.” Comput. Geotech. 32 (5): 340–357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2005.05.001.
Jiang, M., F. Zhu, and S. Utili. 2015b. “Investigation into the effect of backpressure on the mechanical behavior of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments via DEM analyses.” Comput. Geotech. 69: 551–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2015.06.019.
Karol, R. H. 2003. Chemical grouting and soil stabilization, revised and expanded. London: CRC Press.
Kaur, N. P., J. K. Shah, S. Majhi, and A. Mukherjee. 2019. “Healing and simultaneous ultrasonic monitoring of cracks in concrete.” Mater. Today Commun. 18: 87–99.
Khoubani, A., T. M. Evans, and B. M. Montoya. 2016. “Particulate simulations of triaxial tests on bio-cemented sand using a new cementation model.” In Geo-Chicago 2016: Sustainability and Resiliency in Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Special Publication 269, edited by D. Zekkos, A. Farid, A. De, K. R. Reddy, and N. Yesiller, 84–93. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Kozicki, J., and F. V. Donzé. 2008. “A new open-source software developed for numerical simulations using discrete modeling methods.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 197 (49–50): 4429–4443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2008.05.023.
Li, G. 1985. “3D constitutive relationships for soils and experiment validation.” Thesis, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Tsing Hua Univ.
Martinez, B. C., J. T. DeJong, T. R. Ginn. 2014. “Bio-geochemical reactive transport modeling of microbial induced calcite precipitation to predict the treatment of sand in one-dimensional flow.” Comput. Geotech. 58: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2014.01.013.
Masson, S., and J. Martinez. 2001. “Micromechanical analysis of the shear behavior of a granular material.” J. Eng. Mech. 127 (10): 1007–1016. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(2001)127:10(1007).
Montoya, B. M, J. T. DeJong, and R. W. Boulanger. 2013. “Dynamic response of liquefiable sand improved by microbial-induced calcite precipitation.” Géotechnique 63 (4): 302–312. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.SIP13.P.019.
Montoya, B. M., J. T. DeJong, R. W. Boulanger, D. W. Wilson, R. Gerhard, A. Ganchenko, and J.-C. Chou. 2012. “Liquefaction mitigation using microbial induced calcite precipitation.” In GeoCongress 2012: State of the Art and Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Special Publication 225, edited by R. D. Hryciw, A. Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, and N. Yesiller, 1918–1927. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mortensen, B. M., and J. T. DeJong. 2011. “Strength and stiffness of MICP treated sand subjected to various stress paths.” In Geo-Frontiers 2011: Advances in Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Special Publication 211, edited by J. Han, and D. E. Alzamora, 4012–4020. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Oda, M., J. Konishi, and S. Nemat-Nasser. 1982. “Experimental micromechanical evaluation of strength of granular materials: Effects of particle rolling.” Mech. Mater. 1 (4): 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-6636(82)90027-8.
O’Donnell, S. T., E. Kavazanjian, Jr., and B. E. Rittmann. 2017. “MIDP: Liquefaction mitigation via microbial denitrification as a two-stage process. II: MICP.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 143 (12): 04017095. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0001806.
Porter, H., J. Blake, N. K. Dhami, and A. Mukherjee. 2018. “Rammed earth blocks with improved multifunctional performance.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 92: 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.04.013.
Porter, H., N. K. Dhami, and A. Mukherjee. 2016. “Sustainable road bases with microbial carbonate precipitation.” In SCMT4. Coventry, UK: Coventry University.
Porter, H., N. K. Dhami, and A. Mukherjee. 2017. “Synergistic chemical and microbial cementation for stabilization of aggregates.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 83: 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.07.015.
Saxena, S. K., A. S. Avramidis, and K. R. Reddy. 1988. “Dynamic moduli and damping ratios for cemented sands at low strains.” Can. Geotech. J. 25 (2): 353–368. https://doi.org/10.1139/t88-036.
Schnaid, F., P. D. M. Prietto, and N. C. Consoli. 2001. “Characterization of cemented sand in triaxial compression.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 127 (10): 857–868. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2001)127:10(857).
Sitharam, T., and M. Nimbkar. 1997. “Numerical modelling of the micromechanical behavior of granular media by discrete element method.” Geotech. Eng. Bull. 6: 261–283.
van Paassen, L. A., C. M. Daza, M. Staal, D. Y. Sorokin, W. van der Zon, and M. C. M. van Loosdrecht. 2010. “Potential soil reinforcement by biological denitrification.” Ecol. Eng. 36 (2): 168–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.03.026.
Wang, X., and J. Li. 2014. “Simulation of triaxial response of granular materials by modified DEM.” Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astronomy 57 (12): 2297–2308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-014-5605-z.
Whiffin, V. S. 2004. “Microbial CaCO3 precipitation for the production of biocement.” Ph.D. thesis, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch Univ.
Yang, P., S. O’Donnell, N. Hamdan, E. Kavazanjian, and N. Neithalath. 2016. “3D DEM simulations of drained triaxial compression of sand strengthened using microbially induced carbonate precipitation.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (6): 04016143. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000848.
Yang, P., S. O’Donnell, N. Hamdan, E. Kavazanjian, and N. Neithalath. 2017. “3D DEM simulations of drained triaxial compression of sand strengthened using microbially induced carbonate precipitation.” Int. J. Geomech. 17 (6): 04016143. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0000848.
Zhao, X., and T. M. Evans. 2009. “Discrete simulations of laboratory loading conditions.” Int. J. Geomech. 9 (4): 169–178. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1532-3641(2009)9:4(169).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21 • Issue 1 • January 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 5, 2019
Accepted: Aug 13, 2020
Published online: Nov 10, 2020
Published in print: Jan 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Apr 10, 2021
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.