Centrifuge simulation of the consolidation characteristics of capped marine sediment beds

Marine sediment capping is a technique where clean sand or sediment is placed over contaminated sediment to reduce the migration of contaminants to the environment. Environmental regulations have limited the use of in situ sediment capping due to concerns about the contaminant migration through the cap. A series of centrifuge tests were conducted to simulate the effects of consolidation settlement of capped marine sediment. This study describes the testing and monitoring of the centrifuge tests. The results from the centrifuge tests are interpreted and compared to predictions made by the PSDDF computer program, which can qualitatively estimate the consolidation settlement of capped marine sediment.

Centrifuge tests were utilized to predict the consolidation of marine sediment caused by the placement of a capping layer. The centrifuge tests used the modeling of models technique to verify that correct modeling procedures were utilized. In this study, the maximum deviation between the centrifuge test results and PSDDF prediction was 20%. Thus, designers should utilize PSDDF consolidation settlement results with caution. Dye tracer studies showed the importance of consolidation-induced advective transport of contaminants. Thus, the capping layer must be appropriately designed to reduce the effects of consolidation-induced advective transport. This may be accomplished by adding a reactive barrier or geosynthetic barrier layer to the cap design.