Field Study of a Sustainable Land Reclamation Approach Using Dredged Marine Sediment Improved by Horizontal Drains under Vacuum Preloading
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 11
Abstract
Land reclamations often demand large quantities of fill materials. However, many countries commonly engaged in land reclamation are facing an escalating scarcity of natural fill sources. To address this issue, this study proposes a sustainable land reclamation approach that involves dredged marine sediments as fill materials. The dredged marine sediments are improved by a combined method that incorporates the use of horizontal drains with vacuum preloading for preliminary soil treatment and vertical drains with vacuum preloading for further improvement. A field trial has been designed and conducted to verify the performance of the proposed preliminary treatment of marine sediment slurry using prefabricated horizontal drains (PHDs) and vacuum preloading under a “membrane-free” condition. Field measurements, including settlement, pore pressure, effective earth pressure, vacuum pressure, water content, and undrained shear strength, were systematically recorded during the field trial period. After a four-month treatment, the average water content of the filled soil was slightly below 50%, which is one-third of the initial water content. Owing to the combined effect of the vacuum preloading and drying process, a crust layer with the undrained shear strength of 40 kPa was formed on the top of the treated soil. Below the crust layer, the average undrained shear strength of the treated marine deposits was approximately 32 kPa. Overall, the notable effect of using PHDs and the “membrane-free” vacuum preloading method to rapidly consolidate marine deposits slurry has been successfully demonstrated with field monitoring under the site trial condition.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The work in this paper is supported by a Research Impact Fund (R5037-18) and a General Research Fund (GRF) (15210020, 15221721, and 15226722) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government of China (HKSAR). The work is also supported by grants (CD82, CD7A, CD7J) from the Research Institute of Land and Space, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The field trial was conducted with a joint effort of the Sustainable Lantau Office (SLO) and Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) of HKSAR, AECOM, and Build King-Samsung C&T Joint Venture. The authors would like to thank Dr. Daoyuan Tan, Dr. Kai Liu, Dr. Dingbao Song, Dr. Yu Pan, and Dr. Lou Kai for their contributions to the field trial. Additionally, they would also like to thank Mr. Henry, Kin-Tak Cheung, and Mr. Chun-Ho Yan from SLO, CEDD of HKSAR for their constructive suggestions and guidance while this paper was being written.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 11 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 6, 2024
Accepted: Jun 27, 2024
Published online: Sep 12, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 12, 2025
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