Experimental and Analytical Study on Geomechanical Behavior of Biocemented Sand
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21, Issue 8
Abstract
Research on soil biocementation has gained momentum given its advantages over ordinary Portland cement-based techniques that entail a negative environmental impact. Soil biocementation occurs when bacteria-induced urea hydrolysis precipitates calcite crystals that bind sand grains together, hence increasing both the strength and stiffness of the otherwise uncemented material. This paper presents an experimental and analytical study, simulating the geotechnical behavior of biocemented sand and explaining the precipitation mechanism of the effective calcite crystals. The experimental results of this study showed that the precipitation mechanism of the calcite crystals (calcite–silica bond or the calcite–calcite bond) plays a significant role in the strength improvement of biocemented sand, and the predictions obtained from the analytical model were found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the contribution of the Curtin International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (CIPRS) in supporting this research. The SEM experiments conducted in this research were undertaken using the EM instrumentation (ARC LE130100053) at the John de Laeter Centre of Curtin University.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 21 • Issue 8 • August 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 10, 2020
Accepted: Mar 12, 2021
Published online: May 19, 2021
Published in print: Aug 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 19, 2021
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