Laboratory assessment of electro-osmotic stabilization of soft clay

• Published in: Canadian geotechnical journal Vol. 48; no. 12; pp. 1788 - 1802
• Main Authors: JEYAKANTHAN, V, GNANENDRAN, C. T, LO, S.-C. R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa, ON NRC Research Press 01-12-2011; National Research Council of Canada; Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
• Subjects: Assessments; Boundary conditions; Clay; consolidation électro-osmotique; Drains; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Electro-osmosis; electro-osmotic consolidation; electro-osmotic permeability; electro-osmotic stabilization; electro-osmotic triaxial testing; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Engineering geology; essais triaxiaux électro-osmotiques; Exact sciences and technology; Geotechnical engineering; Geotechnology; Grounds; Osmosis; Permeability; perméabilité électro-osmotique; Receiving; Soft clay; Soil permeability; Soil properties; Soils; stabilisation de l’argile molle; stabilisation électro-osmotique; stabilization of soft clay; Testing equipment; Water pressure; Wicks; électro-osmose; Australia; stress; efficiency; engineering geology; stabilization; terrains; permeability; triaxial tests; soft clays; pressure; loading; consolidation; osmosis; electro-osmosis; soils
• ISSN: 0008-3674; 1208-6010
• DOI: 10.1139/t11-073

The application of electro-osmosis (EO) for stabilizing soft clays is receiving more attention in geotechnical engineering. When the application of traditional ground improvement techniques, such as surcharge, pre-loading, wick drains, and vacuum pre-loading, is not appropriate for a particular situation, innovative techniques such as electro-osmosis need to be considered. Although the effectiveness of electro-osmosis has been widely demonstrated in many field applications, geotechnical engineers are still hesitant to apply electro-osmosis due to unknown effects such as electro-chemical changes, which could not be accounted for in the design. This paper presents a design of an electro-osmotic triaxial testing apparatus suitable for electro-osmotic treatment of soft clays and for measuring electro-osmotic permeability and generated pore-water pressure, as well as a testing procedure that accounts for the contribution of electro-chemical changes in the improvement of soil properties. A series of electro-osmotic triaxial tests with various initial stresses and boundary conditions were conducted and the results are presented in the paper.