Erosional behavior of gravel-sand mixtures stabilized by microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) for improving internal erosion resistance of gravel-sand mixtures. Two gravel-sand mixtures with 25% sand/75% gravel and 50% sand/50% gravel were used; the former was susceptible to suffusion whereas the latter was internally stable. The MICP treatment was conducted by either mixing a urea-calcium solution with the tested soils prior to bacteria injection (the pre-mixing method) or injecting the bacteria prior to the urea-calcium solution injection (the injection method). A series of pressure-controlled erosion tests was performed on specimens placed inside a column erosion test apparatus under different levels of axial stress. During the erosion test, the erosion rate, axial deformation, and hydraulic conductivity were measured. Without the MICP treatment, the specimens with 25% sand/75% gravel exhibited much faster backward erosion and suffusion. In contrast, the specimens with 50% sand/50% gravel showed slow backward erosion only. Within the tested conditions, MICP was very effective in mitigating internal erosion for the soil with 25% sand/75% gravel. However, for the soil with 50% sand/50% gravel, the MICP treatment was only successful when the injection method was applied and the erosion test was performed at a low axial stress.