Experimental study on settling velocity of soil particles in dredged slurry

Studying sedimentation and consolidation of dredged slurry has significant implications to the design of storage yard and subsequent ground improvement. In this study, settling velocity of soil particles in dredged slurry during sedimentation and consolidation processes was investigated using an improved multilayer extraction sampling (MES) method. A series of sedimentation column tests were performed on dredged slurry with three different initial water contents. Distributions of volume of soil particles and density of dredged slurry were first obtained by the MES method, settling velocity of soil particles was then calculated by volume flux function approach. It was found that the density and velocity inflection points can be used to distinguish the settling zone and the consolidation zone. The experimental results reveal that the velocity of soil particles was quite low and monotonically decreased with sedimentation height at low initial water content throughout the whole test period, whereas it was increased at 0–1 hours and almost remained constant at 1–7 hours in the settling zone at high initial water content. The effects of initial water content on sedimentation and consolidation mode of dredged slurry and the settling velocity of soil particles were discussed. The relationship between settling velocity of soil particles and particle diameter was also studied. It is indicated that the measured velocity of soil particles was much lower than that calculated by the Stokes equation, and it was related to 0.4881–0.5906 order of particle diameter at 0–1 hours and 0.1117–0.1825 order of particle diameter at 1–7 hours for the test slurries.     

Effect of the pressurized duration on improving dredged slurry with air booster vacuum preloading

Abstract

Compared with traditional vacuum preloading, air booster vacuum preloading is more effective at strengthening dredged slurry and improving the consolidation process. Although many engineering practices have shown that the pressurized duration has a significant effect on the reinforcement effect, there is no standard available for determining the pressurized duration. In this study, five dredged slurry samples were tested to examine the effect of different pressurized durations on the consolidation. An extensive monitoring system was used to measure the vacuum pressure, pore water pressure, settlement, and water discharge during the test, while the water content and shear strength were measured after the test. The collected monitoring data were comprehensively analyzed to evaluate the reinforcement effect. The results revealed that the pressurization system can be used to reinforce deep dredged slurry and make the whole soil layer more homogeneous. If the pressurized duration is too short, the dissipation of pore water pressure is too little to achieve the pressurization effect. If the pressurized duration is too long, too much gas will be in the soil and enter the vacuum system, which will significantly reduce the vacuum pressure and thus the reinforcement effect. Based on these findings, the optimal pressurized duration was obtained.     

Effect of polymer and fiber usage on dewatering and compressibility behavior of fly ash slurries

Coal ash producing is an increasing trend because of its high energy demand worldwide. For transportation, disposal, and reuse of the industrial waste materials, geotextile tube’s dewatering technology has been widely used over the last three decades, which helps to decrease the volume of the dewatered slurry. In this study, effect of usage of polymer and fibers on dewatering characteristic of fly ash slurries was investigated. For the experimental investigation, an anionic polymer and short nylon fibers were used. As a new concept, centrifuge test is introduced as an alternative for the widely used pressure filtration test (PFT). Centrifuge test was used to evaluate final solid content of the retained sediments and change in slurry volume of fly ash. Tests were conducted on unconditioned and anionic polyacrylamide and/or fiber conditioned fly ash slurries. Centrifuge test results were compared with PFT results with respect to final solid content. It was found that fiber and/or polymer usage has remarkable effect on the dewatering rate of fly ash slurry. It was also found that final solid content of fly ash slurries was decreased by inclusion of fibers and polymer, which indicates that fiber and/or polymer usage can create more permeable soil body.     

Application of flocculation combined with vacuum preloading to reduce river-dredged sludge

Abstract

To achieve the rapid dewatering of dredged sludge, the flocculation–vacuum-preloading method was tested indoors. In this study, the optimal mixing ratio of six flocculants was determined through the settling column test, and then the proposed method was tested. The water drainage and settlement were monitored during the test, while the soil moisture content and shear strength were measured after the test. The results show that all the flocculants had an optimal mixing ratio, and the addition of 0.8% FeCl₃ or 0.08% anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) in the sludge can better accelerate solid–liquid separation of the sludge. After the test, the water content in the sludge decreased from 140% to 60%. Compared with general vacuum preloading, the use of the proposed method increased the water drainage by 46.5% and 56.8% and decreased the soil volumes by 60.5% and 82.4% for FeCl₃ and APAM, respectively. Moreover, the corresponding shear strength was increased from 10 to 14 and 17?kPa. In addition, the use of APAM increased the solidification rate of heavy metals in the sludge to more than 80%, effectively inhibiting the migration of heavy metals.     

Effect of sand on the vacuum consolidation of dredged slurry

Vacuum preloading is often used to improve the geotechnical properties of dredged slurry. Although the performance of this method has improved with rapidly developing technology, soil columns usually formed on the drainage boundary induce the decrease of permeability around the boundary, thereby limiting the further development of this method. To address this issue, this paper proposes a method for pretreating the slurry combined with sand prior to vacuum consolidation. This method partially replaces the fine particles with sand to reduce the formation of soil columns. Two groups of vacuum preloading tests were performed to investigate the effect of sand content and sand grain size on the vacuum consolidation of dredged slurry. The test results revealed that for a given sand grain size, increasing the sand content of the sand–slurry mixture increased the pore water drainage and accelerated the dissipation of pore water pressure, thereby increasing the vane shear strength. In contrast, for a constant sand content, the samples containing coarse sand exhibited increased pore water drainage and accelerated dissipation of pore water pressure, thereby increasing the vane shear strength of the soil.     

Mechanism test on inhomogeneity of dredged fill during vacuum preloading consolidation

Abstract

First, this article presents a simulation experiment of hydraulic reclamation, and then a vacuum preloading (VP) test using the sedimentary soil obtained by the first experiment. In the VP test, the distribution and variation of different physico-mechanical parameters before and after the treatment were tested. According to the test results, the concept “non-Terzaghi soil” is proposed to explain the inhomogeneity and its mechanism rendered by “seepage separation.” And then a staged VP (SVP) drainage consolidation method has been introduced to improve the inhomogeneity and seepage curtain phenomena around prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) during the consolidation. The test results demonstrate that the clogging problem around PVDs has been prevented and the consolidation efficiency has been promoted after the SVP test. It has been noticed that the cumulative drainage volume and the settlement displacement of SVP test were 27% and 24%, respectively, greater than that of VP test, and the soil tends to be more homogeneous. Moreover, it has been shown that the inhomogeneity degree of the permeability coefficient, unit weight, void ratio, water content, cohesion, internal friction angle, compression modulus, and the soil surface settlement in slurry after the SVP test were 3.10, 1.02, 1.03, 1.09, 2.30, 1.92, 1.19, and 1.02, whereas that after VP test was 397.27, 1.07, 1.40, 1.40, 4.74, 3.00, 1.76, and 1.22. Finally, the mechanism of SVP method has been discussed.     

黄河口泥沙颗粒表面电荷的微电泳研究

黄河是世界河流中携带泥沙颗粒最多的河流。泥沙的沉积不仅受物理因素,也受化学因素的控制,例如受表面电荷的控制。研究黄河口水中悬浮体颗粒的表面电荷,有助于探求河口区域的悬浮物沉积规律。 本文测定了不同盐度下黄河口水体中悬浮粒子的电泳行为,得到如下结果:(1)所有悬浮粒子均带负电荷。(2)粒子Zeta电位的负值随盐度增大而减小。这个结果与文献报道(欧洲一些河流的)情况一致。     

Effects of Column Diameter on Setting Behavior of Dredged Slurry in Sedimentation Experiments

This article investigates the influence of dimensions of a settling column on the settling mode and the settling rate. End conditions of the settling stage in the hindered settling were also analyzed. It was found that the settling mode in a column with a smaller diameter tends to be consolidation settling. The effect of a settling column wall decreases with increasing column diameter, and it can be ignored provided the column diameter is larger than 14.5 centimeters. For the difference in initial water content, the settling behavior of the slurry develops a different sensitivity to the diameter effect. The influence of column diameter reduces as the initial water content of the slurry becomes higher. It is suggested that the internal diameter of the column used in a sedimentation experiment should be 14.5 centimeters.     

不同粘粒含量粉质土动孔压发展模式试验研究

以黄河三角洲粉质土为研究对象,采用动三轴试验方法,探讨不同粘粒含量对粉质土孔压发展变化的影响,给出不同粘粒质量分数的粉质土动孔压的发展模式,并对动孔压发展模式表达式中的系数进行讨论。结果表明,动孔压发展模式公式中b值代表了粘粒质量分数对土体孔隙水压力发展的影响,9％为不同粘粒质量分数土体孔隙水压力发展的拐点,拐点前后孔隙水压力的发展模式不同。     

Laboratory Investigations for Dewatering of Golden Horn Dredged Sludge with Geotextile Tubes

In this study, an effective means of dewatering the dredged material obtained from the sea-bottom in Istanbul is investigated through the use of additives and geotextile tubes (also known as geotubes, geotextile containers, and geotextile bags). Rapid dewatering test and geotube dewatering test are laboratory approaches, where the types and amounts of anionic and cationic additives for dewatering efficiency of dredged sludge can quickly and economically be examined. In this study, a best dosage amount of 1.5 kg/tonne was used as flocculant solution preparation with distilled water. After this process, twelve homogeneous sludge-polymer admixtures were prepared by adding 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0% polymers (anionic and cationic) by weight of the dredged material in rapid dewatering tests and another twelve homogeneous sludge-polymer admixtures were prepared by adding 0.1, 0.25, and 0.50% polymers (anionic and cationic) by weight of the dredged material in geotube dewatering tests. The results indicated that Golden Horn dredged sludge could be successfully dewatered and retained by geotextile tubes. The use of chemical cationic polymers is recommended with Golden Horn dredged sludge rather than the anionic polymers. Results also showed that use of flocculants can significantly increase the retention capacity of geotubes.     

Rheological behavior of dredged slurries at high water contents

Each year in the world, there is significant amount of dredged slurries generated during geotechnical jobs. In the slurry storage process, the rheological behavior is a key factor affecting the motion of dredged slurries. To gain better understanding on this behavior, experiments on dredged slurries with different liquid limits are conducted using rotary viscometer. It has been found that, as water content increases, slurry property can change from Bingham plastic fluids to Newtonian fluids. In log–log coordinates, their corresponding yield stress and plastic viscosity are in linear relationship with their water contents and the intersection of these two lines can be treated as the turning point which is 4.7 times the liquid limit. The yield stress and plastic viscosity of different dredged slurries can be normalized efficiently using normalized water content. So, in this paper, a new quantitative prediction method for yield stress and plastic viscosity is proposed, which is effective for use in alkined modes of motion, is proposed.     

Mineralogy and Geotechnical Properties of Ultrasoft Soil from a Nearshore Mine Tailings Sedimentation Pond

An engineering geological study was undertaken to determine the engineering properties, and mineralogy of ultrasoft soils (USS) obtained from a nearshore mine tailings sedimentation pond. The USS is a high plasticity clay of high water content and low shear strength. Marine bathymetric and seismic reflection surveys were undertaken in the sedimentation pond located in the foreshore of the Eastern part of the Republic of Singapore. Specimens collected from the bore holes were tested to determine the engineering and mineralogy properties of the USS. Field vane shear tests were undertaken just adjacent to the sampling bore holes to determine the shear strength properties of the USS. The mineralogical properties of the USS were determined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope techniques. The USS is under consolidated soil where higher density and lower water content were found at deeper depth. The USS had three different compression indices under three log cycles of effective stress between 1–10, 10–100, and 100–1,000 kPa. This is the main characteristic of USS, which diverts from reconstituted soil. The outcome of this research is fundamental for understanding the compression behavior and subsequently the development of a constitutive model for USS, typical found in sedimentary pond.     

Laboratory and Field Observations for Golden Horn Marine Clay

Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and one of the major metropolitan areas in the world, cleaned one of its environmentally polluted areas—Golden Horn—by dredging 5 million m³ of the bottom sediments and pumping the resulting sludge to a storage area behind a dam built at an abandoned rock quarry site in Alibey district. The reclamation of the land that formed over the storage area of Golden Horn dredged material is socially and economically very desirable. In this paper, results from experimental studies that are focused on determining the shear strength behavior of the dredge material and undisturbed soil are presented. Slurry consolidometer test, large model tests and small model tests are used to consolidate the dredged soil samples from Halic to simulate the natural consolidation behavior of these soils. Shear strength parameters are determined by laboratory vane tests; unconfined compression tests; undrained-unconsolidated (UU) and consolidated-undrained (CU) triaxial tests on samples that are obtained through in situ undisturbed samples and laboratory model tank and slurry consolidation. Moreover, the effects of fly ash and lime additives on the undrained shear strength were determined by mixing the materials with the dredged clay from Golden Horn during the model experiments conducted in the laboratory. Based on these findings, equations are proposed that govern the relationships between undrained shear strength and water content value.     

广西英罗港红树林区木榄群落土壤粒径分布的分形特征

应用分形理论分析了广西英罗港红树林区小榄Bruguiera gymnorrhiza群落土壤粒径分布的分形特征。基于土壤粒径-重量分布资料计算,土壤粒径分布分形维数介于2.78-2.90之间。分形维数的大小与土壤中的细粘粒、盐分和有机质的含量呈显著正相关,与砂粒的含量呈显著负相关。不同质地的土壤,其粒径分布的分形维数呈现砂壤<轻粘土<中粘土的变化。土壤的质地类型、含盐量、有机质含量等是决定土壤粒径分布分形维数的主要因子。     

Experimental study on recycling dredged marine sediment and phosphate tailing to produce earth fill

Environmental friendly earth fill was produced by recycling dredged marine sediment and phosphate tailing. The properties of the marine sediment and tailing were tested. Composite soil samples of different mix ratios were prepared. The optimum moisture contents, basic physical properties, compression characteristics, and shear strength characteristics under the optimum moisture contents were tested and analyzed. The results indicated that the optimum moisture content decreases with increasing phosphorus tailing content and that composite soil is preferable over both marine sediment and phosphate tailing because of its higher dry density, lower compressibility, and higher shear strength. When the phosphorus tailing content is in 50–65%, the dry density is maximized and the void ratio is minimized, indicating the best ratio. The coefficient of compressibility is in 0.07–0.12?MPa^?1. When the phosphorus tailing content is 50%, the compression index and coefficient of compressibility are minimized, whereas cohesion is maximized. The internal friction angle increases with increasing phosphorus tailing content. The optimum phosphorus tailing content is 50%; at this phosphorus tailing content, the compacted composite soil can be reutilized as good earth fill. The results demonstrate the properties and optimal conditions of composite soil composed of mud and silty sand.     

Does cannibalism of larvae by adults affect settlement and connectivity of mussel populations?

Intertidal population dynamics are driven by a complex series of processes, including larval supply and the possibility of larval predation by benthic animals such as filter-feeders. We hypothesised that cannibalism by adults could play a major role in the population connectivity of mussel populations by removing larvae as they attempt to settle in the adult habitat. Specifically, we tested hypotheses that consumption of mussel larvae by adults removes a significant proportion of potential settlers and is influenced by both settlement intensity and tidal state (flooding or ebbing). Predation of mussel larvae by adult mussels was investigated on incoming and ebbing tides during four spring tides by analysing the gut contents of adult Perna perna and Mytilus galloprovincialis collected from the low intertidal mussel zone between October 2005 and January 2006. Consumption rates were then compared with estimates of successful settler densities on natural beds. The results showed that mortality of competent mussel larvae through adult ingestion removes up to 77% a of potential settlers. Rates of larval consumption were highest during months of intense settlement, suggesting that mussels feed opportunistically, filtering a relatively fixed volume of water and removing particles, including larvae, in proportion to their densities in the water. Rates of larviphagy were also higher during receding than incoming tides. We suggest that this is due to changes in larval density or, more probably, in adult filtration efficiency that are related to the state of the tide. Despite significant effects of both tidal state and settlement intensity on rates of larval ingestion, neither had a significant effect on the proportion of potential settlers removed. During settlement more than half of all potential settlers are lost through cannibalism, with potentially serious consequences for population maintenance. The results highlight the paradoxical nature of the evolution of settlement mechanisms in mussels, which must balance the advantages of settlement in habitats favourable to adults against the consumption of larvae by adults.     

海洋浮游微食物网生物在海洋颗粒形成和沉降中的作用

海洋中存在着大量的颗粒,包括大型聚合颗粒（即海雪,粒径>500μm）、小型聚合颗粒（1~500μm）和亚微米颗粒粒径（<1μm）等。颗粒在海水中营造了不同于纯海水的小生境,其中生活着与自然海水中不同的生物。异养细菌、蓝细菌、真核藻类、鞭毛虫、纤毛虫等微食物网生物可以黏附在海洋颗粒上,或生活在颗粒内部,其丰度高于周围水体中的自由生活生物,这可能是由于颗粒提供了更适宜生长的营养环境。本文综述了海洋浮游微食物网生物在海洋颗粒形成和沉降中的作用。微食物网生物在颗粒物的形成过程中起到很重要的作用,它们可以直接促进颗粒形成,也可以彼此结合成颗粒,或微型浮游动物排粪形成颗粒。微食物网生物还可以对颗粒进行转化,影响颗粒的大小、沉降速度、或对颗粒及其黏附生物进行摄食。微食物网生物由于本身较小,沉降较慢,但这些生物和颗粒的结合使得微食物网生物在碳通量中发挥重要的作用。     

Transport of the colloid matter of riverine runoff through estuaries

A procedure for separating the colloid component of natural waters is proposed. It was shown that this component is the main form of matter transfer in Ob River runoff, because the mass of colloid substance is two orders of magnitude higher than that of particulate matter in the outer part of the estuary. Simulation and field experiments revealed the influence of nature and concentration of organic matter on their ability to stabilize or flocculate clay particles with an increase in salinity, thus affecting the range of transfer of riverine runoff matter. It was shown that the interaction of humic acids and clay particles, as well as the increase in hydrophobic properties of a flocculant, improve flocculation efficiency. Criteria are proposed to recognize in the estuarine region areas of pronounced contribution of flocculation processes to sedimentation of fine particles. It is shown that the newly formed organic matter produced by biota under saline stress might be flocculants of fine particulate matter.     

某电厂煤码头煤尘对海洋环境影响的估算

以广东某电厂煤码头为例，探讨临海煤码头落海煤尘对海洋环境的影响。文中阐述了点源和面源起尘量的估算。根据风速、煤粒下降速度、落差高度等计算煤码头扬尘入海量。依据煤尘煤粒到达海区的量计算煤尘入海引起海水悬浮物的增量等。文中还讨论了落海煤尘煤粒对海洋环境水质、沉积物和海洋生物的影响，认为其主要是对海水水质悬浮物、海洋生物光合作用以及沉积物有机质、硫化物含量的影响等。