Geotechnical Tests of Sands Following Bioinduced Calcite Precipitation Catalyzed by Indigenous Bacteria
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 6
Abstract
Recent experiments have shown that exogenous bacteria can be introduced into soil for the purpose of inducing calcite precipitation. A series of tests are documented in this paper that demonstrate that natural indigenous bacteria can also be stimulated to induce calcite precipitation with measurable changes in geotechnical properties. Tests reported in this paper include a microcosm experiment with cone-penetration testing and cyclic triaxial shear tests. These experiments demonstrate that indigenous bacteria can induce significant quantities of calcite precipitation, that calcite precipitation can result in measurable changes to geotechnical soil properties, and that the cyclic resistance ratio can be increased substantially with moderate levels of calcite precipitation. Using indigenous bacteria to modify soil properties is a significant step in making biomodification of soils economically viable.
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Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the support provided by the National Science Foundation, Division of CMMI, Geoenvironmental Engineering and Geohazard Mitigation Program through grant No. 070091. We also thank Gregg Drilling and Testing for providing the miniature cone penetrometer.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 6 • June 2013
Pages: 928 - 936
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 16, 2011
Accepted: May 23, 2012
Published online: May 25, 2012
Published in print: Jun 1, 2013
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