Biogrouting is a new ground improvement method that has been studied in recent years. This method involves mainly the use of a microbially induced calcite precipitation process to bind soil particles to increase the strength or to fill in the pores of soil or joints of rock for seepage control. There are two major challenges in the use of biogrout for seepage control through rock joints. The first is how to inject the biogrout solutions, and the second is to understand the mechanisms for the formation of calcite under seepage flow. In this paper, a study on the injection of biogrout solution and the formation of precipitates along a circular 1D flow channel is presented. To minimize the influence of flow, a new one-phase injection method to inject bacterial solution and cementation agents simultaneously was adopted in this study. Factors affecting the formation and distribution of precipitates along the flow channel such as flow velocity, flow rate, and aperture of flow channel were investigated. The experimental results indicated that less calcite was precipitated at locations further away from the injection point due to depletion of the reactants’ concentrations along the flow path. Using the one-phase injection method, the bacterial activity had a major effect on the accumulation of the calcite on the inner surface of the flow channel. The total calcite precipitated on the surface of the flow channel increased slightly with increasing bacterial activity or flow rate. An equation to predict the distance travelled by the biosolution has been derived based on the testing results.
Fold terminations are key features in the study of compressional fault-related folds. Such terminations could be due to loss of displacement on the thrust fault or/and forming a lateral or oblique ramp. Thus, high-quality seismic data would help unambiguously define which mechanism should be responsible for the termination of a given fault-related fold. The Qiongxi and Qiongxinan structures in the Sichuan Basin, China are examples of natural fault-propagation folds that possess a northern termination and a structural saddle between them. The folds/fault geometry and along-strike displacement variations are constrained by the industry 3-D seismic volume. We interpret that the plunge of the fold near the northern termination and the structural saddle are due to the loss of displacement along strike. The fault geometry associated with the northern termination changes from a flat-ramp at the crest of the Qiongxinan structure, where displacement is the greatest, to simply a ramp near the northern tip of the Qiongxi structure, without forming a lateral or oblique ramp. In this study, we also use the drainage pattern, embryonic structure preserved in the crest of the Qiongxinan structure and the assumption that displacement along a fault is proportional to the duration of thrusting to propose a model for the lateral propagation of the Qiongxinan and Qiongxi structures. Specifically, we suggest that the structure first initiated as an isolated fault ramp within brittle units. With increased shortening, the fault grows to link with lower detachments in weaker shale units to create a hybridized fault-propagation fold. Our model suggests a possible explanation for the lateral propagation history of the Qiongxinan and Qiongxi structures, and also provides an alternative approach to confirming the activity of the previous Pingluoba structure in the southwestern Sichuan Basin in the late Cenozoic. 相似文献
