Effect of Viscosity on Slurry Infiltration in Granular Media
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22, Issue 9
Abstract
The infiltration of slurry in granular media plays an important role in face stability during slurry shield tunneling. This study investigates the effect of slurry viscosity in Fujian standard sand through a series of column tests combined with microstructural investigation, which remains unclear. The viscosity of slurry covers a wide range, from 1.8 to 2,248 mPa·s. Slurry particles in the low-viscosity test (1.8 mPa·s) fail to form an impermeable cake due to the loose stacking of slurry particles retained in sand voids, corresponding to a slight water pressure difference and relatively large permeability. For the high-viscosity test (2,248 mPa·s), an impermeable cake forms at a shallow depth; however, this internal cake is vulnerable to be disturbed and damaged due to its shallow thickness. Ultimately, one recommended viscosity, 56 mPa·s, is identified as a transition state with two-stage intact clogging, exhibiting an effective infiltration depth and intact internal cake that forms simultaneously. Experimental observations show a negative water pressure difference in the high-viscosity test, attributable to the siphonic principle. Furthermore, a measurement of slurry samples and solutes using the material observation apparatus could provide the microstructure evidence to interpret the effect of slurry viscosity in infiltration clogging. This study offers a reliable reference for interpreting the effect of viscosity on slurry clogging in infiltration performance.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support provided by the Science and Technology Development Fund of Macau SAR [Grant No. 0035/2019/A1 and SKL-IOTSC(UM)-2021-2023], the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52022001), the Shenzhen Research and Technology Fund (No. JSGG20180504170449754), and the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (GRF Project No. 15209119) is gratefully acknowledged.
Notation
The following symbols are used in this paper:
- A
- cross-sectional area of sand in a large-diameter cylinder (m2);
- a
- time at which half the maximum infiltration distance is achieved (s);
- D
- diameter of the sand column (m);
- d10
- grain diameter for 10% is finer than (mm);
- i
- hydraulic gradient;
- kb
- permeability of sand for bentonite slurry (m/s);
- ks
- permeability of sand for water (m/s);
- L
- maximum infiltration distance (m);
- Lb
- length of the slurry suspension (m);
- Ls
- thickness of the sand column (m);
- n
- sand porosity;
- p1
- water pressure at location p1 (kPa);
- p1−2
- pressure difference between adjacent sensors (kPa);
- Q
- total amount of discharged water (mL);
- t
- time (s);
- x
- infiltration distance at any time (m);
- α
- fitting coefficient (2 ≤ α ≤ 4);
- ΔLs
- thickness of the sand column between two adjacent sensors (m);
- Δp
- pressure drop over a sand sample (kPa);
- Δφ
- pressure difference (kPa);
- ρw
- water density (kg/m3);
- θ
- angle between the setup and the horizontal plane; and
- τy
- yield strength of slurry (Pa).
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 22 • Issue 9 • September 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 8, 2021
Accepted: Apr 19, 2022
Published online: Jun 30, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 30, 2022
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Cited by
- Su Qin, Wan-Huan Zhou, Tao Xu, Effects of seawater on the infiltration behavior of bentonite slurry into sand, Construction and Building Materials, 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.130759, 371, (130759), (2023).
- Jie Yang, Zhen‐Yu Yin, A novel hydro‐mechanical coupled multiphysics model for slurry penetration in sand with application to face stability analysis of shield tunnel, International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 10.1002/nag.3511, (2023).