Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Charalampos Konstantinou, Yuze Wang, Giovanna Biscontin, Kenichi Soga
Summary: This study focuses on evaluating the impact of urease activity and bacterial population density on the uniformity of cementation in very coarse sands. The results show that reducing urease activity can promote more uniform cementation.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Ashkan Nafisi, Qianwen Liu, Brina M. Montoya
Summary: Bio-mediated techniques show potential as an eco-friendly and sustainable solution for engineering problems in unfavorable soil conditions. This study evaluates the material behavior of MICP-treated sands under varying stress paths with different levels of cementation through drained triaxial tests. The effect of stress relaxation and compression after bio-treatment on shear response is also examined, alongside the verification of a proposed nonlinear failure envelope for MICP-treated sands.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Guantao Cheng, Hai Lin, Ardalan Chaichi, Manas Ranjan Gartia, Joon Soo Park, Elnaz Sheikh
Summary: This study investigated the mechanical behavior of a low-plasticity silt treated by microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). The biogeochemical reactions of the fine-grained soil during MICP treatment were investigated, and the precipitations of calcium carbonate, iron carbonate, and iron in the soil were found to improve the mechanical properties of the silt samples. Two types of MICP treatments were used and direct shear tests were conducted at different confining pressures.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Andony Landivar Macias, Alessandro F. Rotta F. Loria
Summary: This article presents SANISAND-C*, a constitutive model developed to capture the effects of cementation on the mechanics of sands. The model is validated using mathematical formulation and extensive experimental data, and its capabilities and limitations are discussed. It is highlighted that the model can realistically capture the key properties of cemented sands.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Kai Sun, Annan Zhou
Summary: This study presents a novel multisurface constitutive model for predicting the mechanical behaviors of frozen soil. The model takes into account the influence of temperature and confining pressure on the constitutive behavior of frozen soil, and can explain some special characteristics of frozen soil, which is validated by experimental results.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xuecheng Gao, Shaokang Han, Yang Yang, Wengang Zhang, Tan Zou, Liang Cheng
Summary: This paper investigates the effectiveness of biocementation in soil treatment and compares different methods. The results show that the one-phase-low-pH method has a higher urease fixation rate and cost-effectiveness, and the morphology and size of precipitated crystals have a significant impact on strength development. An optimized treatment method can achieve satisfactory results after four treatments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chenpeng Song, Chaoyi Wang, Derek Elsworth, Sheng Zhi
Summary: MICP enhances the mechanical strength of sand aggregates through calcium carbonate cementation, with different particle morphologies and sizes showing variations in strength. Particle morphology and inter-particle bonding morphology play a crucial role in determining the mechanical properties of the treated aggregates.
GEOMICROBIOLOGY JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Soo-Min Ham, Min-Kyung Jeon, Tae-Hyuk Kwon
Summary: Soil erosion can lead to scouring and failures of underwater structures, and various soil improvement techniques are used to increase erosion resistance. The microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) method is proposed for improving erosion resistance, but there is limited research on using MICP treatment specifically for surface erosion resistance. This study investigates the improvement in surface erosion resistance of sands by MICP through laboratory experiments and numerical modeling. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of MICP treatment and the utility of a coupled CFD-DEM with a bonding model in analyzing soil erosion behavior.
GEOMECHANICS AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Yang Yang, Yang Xiao, Liang Cheng, Mohamed A. Shahin, Hanlong Liu
Summary: This paper introduces a new method to maximize the retention of bacteria in porous media by using an in situ biomass flocculation technique, resulting in a homogeneous distribution of bacteria activity. The method has been tested and successfully achieved homogenous distribution of urease activity, produced CaCO3 content, and compressive strength. This method is significant for improving soil performance and ensuring uniform construction effect.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Erxing Peng, Xiaoying Hu, Yaling Chou, Yu Sheng, Shihao Liu, Fansheng Zhou, Jichun Wu, Wei Cao
Summary: The salinity of soil can cause environmental hazards, but microbially induced carbonate precipitation is an effective and pollution-free treatment modality. Despite the negative effect of salt, this method improves the engineering and mechanical properties of saline soil and reduces the permeability coefficient.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
F. Su, Y. Y. Yang
Summary: This study demonstrates the feasibility of using microbial consortium for MICP, identifying functional micro-organisms and explaining the mechanism. The proposed method for soil media has advantages of low cost, low environmental impact, treatment uniformity, and less limitations from natural soils.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Ocean
Zhekai Wang, Huiming Tan, Yifei Sun, Fumao Chen
Summary: The precipitation efficiency of microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) can be improved by using a modified bio-cement method based on MICP and sodium alginate (SA). Adding an appropriate amount of SA in the bacterial solution can greatly enhance the ability of immobilising bacteria, leading to effective precipitation of calcium carbonate on aggregate surfaces. However, the weight increment and unconfined compressive strength initially increase and then decrease as the SA content increases.
MARINE GEORESOURCES & GEOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Alice Wassermann, Adel Abdallah, Olivier Cuisinier
Summary: This study analyzes the impact of wetting/drying cycles on the mechanical behavior of cement-treated sand, showing that the cycles alter bonding and decrease mechanical performance. The weathering effect is dependent on cement dosage and cycle intensity, with different effects observed for different cement percentages.
TRANSPORTATION GEOTECHNICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Akram Karimian, Mahmoud Hassanlourad
Summary: Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technique is an eco-friendly method for soil improvement, which enhances soil strength through cementation of sand particles. It has the potential to create stable bio-stabilized soil columns and produces homogeneous bio-cemented soil samples. In addition, there is no significant difference in the amount of calcium carbonate precipitation between sand and silty sand.
BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jie Yin, Jian-Xin Wu, Ke Zhang, Mohamed A. Shahin, Liang Cheng
Summary: In recent years, oil spills and leakages have caused serious global environmental problems during oil exploration, transportation, handling, usage, and processing. Microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a promising alternative for soil stabilization. This paper compares the mechanical performance of oil-polluted sand treated with biocement and traditional Portland cement. Laboratory tests show that biocement-treated oil-contaminated sand achieves higher strength compared to cement-treated soil, indicating its high potential for oil-contaminated soil stabilization in regions affected by spills and leakages.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Y. Hong, X. Y. Chen, L. Z. Wang, B. Yang, M. Sanchez
Summary: The presence of undissolved gas bubbles in fine-grained gassy soil can significantly affect the cyclic behavior and stiffness degradation of the soil. Water depth is likely to have a significant influence on the cyclic deformation and stiffness degradation of offshore foundations in fine-grained gassy sediments.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Alejandro Martinez, Jason Dejong, Idil Akin, Ali Aleali, Chloe Arson, Jared Atkinson, Paola Bandini, Tugce Baser, Rodrigo Borela, Ross Boulanger, Matthew Burrall, Yuyan Chen, Clint Collins, Douglas Cortes, Sheng Dai, Theodore DeJong, Emanuela Del Dottore, Kelly Dorgan, Richard Fragaszy, J. David Frost, Robert Full, Majid Ghayoomi, Daniel Goldman, Nicholas Gravish, Ivan L. Guzman, James Hambleton, Elliot Hawkes, Michael Helms, David Hu, Lin Huang, Sichuan Huang, Christopher Hunt, Duncan Irschick, Hai Thomas Lin, Bret Lingwall, Alen Marr, Barbara Mazzolai, Benjamin McInroe, Tejas Murthy, Kyle O'Hara, Marianne Porter, Salah Sadek, Marcelo Sanchez, Carlos Santamarina, Lisheng Shao, James Sharp, Hannah Stuart, Hans Henning Stutz, Adam Summers, Julian Tao, Michael Tolley, Laura Treers, Kurtis Turnbull, Rogelio Valdes, Leon van Paassen, Gioacchino Viggiani, Daniel Wilson, Wei Wu, Xiong Yu, Junxing Zheng
Summary: The interactions between biological organisms and soil provide unique principles and design ideas for addressing geotechnical challenges, while also offering potential benefits for understanding mechanisms in biology.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Roger Augusto Rodrigues, Fabio Visnadi Prado Soares, Marcelo Sanchez
Summary: This paper investigates the effect of compaction on collapsible soils' settlement upon wetting through a combination of laboratory tests, in-situ investigations, and numerical modeling, providing an effective method for reducing soil collapsibility and supporting the prevention of damage to buildings and civil infrastructure.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Michael A. Maedo, Marcelo Sanchez, Heber Fabbri, Pedro Cleto, Leonardo J. N. Guimaraes, Osvaldo L. Manzoli
Summary: The study presents a numerical technique for handling evolving fractures in rocks, known as the mesh fragmentation technique (MFT), which has been successfully applied to various mechanical and hydro-mechanical problems. The method shows promising potential in tackling THM applications involving fractured rocks and has the advantage of being easily implemented in existing numerical FEM codes for upgrading them to handle THM engineering problems with evolving discontinuities.
ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Ajay Shastri, Marcelo Sanchez, Xuerui Gai, Moo Y. Lee, Thomas Dewers
Summary: The experimental campaign focused on frozen soils from Alaska presented a unique dataset covering a wide range of temperatures and confinements. The elastoplastic model for frozen soils was validated based on the test results and able to capture key properties associated with frozen soil behavior, such as the effects of temperature and cryogenic suction. The proposed approach, implemented in a fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical simulator, was able to capture the main features of frozen soil behavior, including the transition between elastic and plastic states.
COMPUTERS AND GEOTECHNICS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Marcelo Sanchez, Beatrice Pomaro, Antonio Gens
Summary: This study focuses on the THM analysis of an experiment designed to study the long-term response of a disposal concept for high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel. The numerical model accurately predicted the state and evolution of the barrier, confirming the model's capability to capture the transient THM processes. The combination of experimental and numerical investigations has led to a better understanding of the THM behavior of this complex system.
Article
Engineering, Geological
Jumanah Hajjat, Marcelo Sanchez
Summary: This study introduces a new apparatus to investigate the cracking behavior and tensile-compressive forces in soils during drying-wetting cycles. The device is equipped with a balance, digital camera, image analysis software, and digital image correlation technique. Results show that tensile forces were higher during the first drying compared to subsequent dryings, while compressive forces during wetting were smaller than the tensile forces during drying. The crack networks became denser as cycles progressed, with new cracks growing in the soil after each stage.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Charles Wang Wai Ng, Sina Baghbanrezvan, Sze Yu Lau, Marcelo Sanchez, Chao Zhou
Summary: This paper investigates the effects of gas hydrate dissociation on casing-sediment interaction and gas hydrate-bearing sediment (GHBS) response through a novel centrifuge test. The results reveal that as hydrate dissociates, temperature-pressure profiles change, causing changes in effective stress and sediment movement. Dissociation within a perforated interval leads to stress transfer and vertical arching. The progressive dissociation of hydrate induces large axial compressive and tensile loads, jeopardizing the integrity of the well. Therefore, both induced compressive and tensile axial loads should be carefully considered for safe gas production in GHBS.
JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Bohan Zhou, Marcelo Sanchez, Luciano Oldecop, J. Carlos Santamarina
Summary: This paper proposes a visco-elastoplastic constitutive model for methane hydrate bearing sediments, taking into account important features such as hydrate saturation, stress history, and hydrate morphology. The model is validated using triaxial tests and shows excellent agreement with experimental observations, capturing the main behavior of methane hydrate bearing sediments.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Heber Fabbri, Marcelo Sanchez, Michael Maedo, Pedro Cleto, Osvaldo Manzoli
Summary: In this study, the fragmentation technique (MFT) is proposed to model evolving fractures in clays triggered by gas pressurization. The method is successfully verified against analytical solutions and applied to simulate gas breakthrough experiments in clays, showing a very satisfactory performance. This demonstrates the potential of the MFT to tackle multiphase flow problems in deformable porous media with evolving discontinuities.
COMPUTERS AND GEOTECHNICS
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Civil
Bohan Zhou, Abdulvahit Sahin, Marcelo Sanchez
Summary: This research aims to study the behavior of clay barrier materials during heating and drying processes, and investigate the impact of drying cracks on gas permeability. This is crucial for designing repositories for high level nuclear waste.
GEO-CONGRESS 2022: GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING; UNSATURATED SOILS; AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN EROSION, SUSTAINABLITY, AND COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS
(2022)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Civil
Roger Augusto Rodrigues, Fabio Visnadi Prado Soares, Marcelo Sanchez
Summary: This paper investigates the effect of soil compaction on settlements of collapsible soils upon wetting under field conditions, and validates the proposed method through numerical simulations.
GEO-CONGRESS 2022: GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING; UNSATURATED SOILS; AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN EROSION, SUSTAINABLITY, AND COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS
(2022)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Civil
Muhammad A. Falak, Marcelo Sanchez, Enrique R. Morales
Summary: The safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste is a pressing issue in the nuclear industry. Previous studies have focused on determining the breakthrough pressure of gas through clay barriers and testing the safety of the Engineered Barrier System. However, these experiments do not fully represent the field conditions. This paper investigates gas breakthrough mechanisms through the rock-clay contact under controlled conditions in a laboratory, and highlights the critical role of the rock-barrier interface in determining the overall efficiency of the Engineered Barrier System.
GEO-CONGRESS 2022: GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING; UNSATURATED SOILS; AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN EROSION, SUSTAINABLITY, AND COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS
(2022)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Civil
Yue Chen, Marcelo Sanchez, Jean-Louis Briaud
Summary: This paper proposes a methodology to estimate the depth of the active zone (DAZ) in problems involving shrink-swell soils (SSS) and discusses the impact of critical parameters and factors on the predicted movements.
GEO-CONGRESS 2022: GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING; UNSATURATED SOILS; AND CONTEMPORARY TOPICS IN EROSION, SUSTAINABLITY, AND COAL COMBUSTION RESIDUALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Geological
Duaa Al-Jeznawi, Marcelo Sanchez, Abbas J. Al-Taie
Summary: Image analysis technique is used to study cracking soils by quantifying the characteristics of the crack network in geotechnical engineering. Laboratory testing of artificial soil samples under different conditions revealed that factors such as friction of the bottom contact surface, environment, and exposure to salt solution affect crack formation and drying mechanisms. Friction of the bottom surface influences crack intensity factors and different boundary conditions impact crack patterns.
GEOTECHNICAL AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
