Sand and silt treatment with novel binders

¹ DMT GmbH & Co. KG, Am TÜV 1 45307 Essen, Germany
² Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via Brancati 48 00144 Rome, Italy
³ Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, C. Jordi Girona 1-3 08034 Barcelona, Spain
⁴ Geomechanics Group, International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering, C. Gran Capitá S/N 08034 Barcelona, Spain

^* Corresponding author: marcos.arroyo@upc.edu

Abstract

An attractive approach to reduce the carbon footprint for ground improvement application is to replace Portland cementbased binders by non-cementitious binders for instance by geopolymers based on metakaolin in deep soil mixing applications or by colloidal silica and acrylates in permeation based applications. Safe design requires a good understanding of the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the improved ground but little is known about how soil is improved by these products. Besides, for permeation grouting applicability criteria are frequently set in terms of the host soil water permeability. However, for novel binders the threshold value is not known and published empirical basis for available criteria is relatively scarce. This paper summarizes results from a laboratory characterization campaign of soils of variable permeability improved with different novel binders, focusing on the effect on strength, stiffness and permeability. Observations relative to the effect of curing conditions are also provided, as well as the insight gained by examining the injection process outcomes with computed tomography. Results show how these novel products have the potential to significantly improve the mechanical properties and reduce permeability in a large range of soils.