Determination of Soil-Water Characteristic Curves of Unsaturated Sandy Soils Using Membrane Filter with Stainless Wire Mesh

Soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) is an important soil function in an unsaturated soil mechanics field for design and analyses of any unsaturated earth structures. Determination of SWCC is not easy and more so time consuming. Generally, ceramic disc with high air-entry value has been used in the pressure plate apparatus for this purpose by many people. Now-a-days membrane filter is being used as a suitable alternative to ceramic disc. However, experience shows, it has disadvantage of breakage after one time use especially with coarse grain soils (sandy soils). In this study, membrane filter with stainless wire mesh was used to solve this problem and the SWWC was compared with the results obtained without wire mesh. Results showed that membrane filter with stainless wire mesh can be used to determine the SWCC for coarse grain soils

Laboratory Verification of a Proposed New Method to Determine the In-Situ Effective Porosity of Unsaturated Soil

A laboratory validation of a proposed new method of determining the in-situ effective porosity of unsaturated soils was carried out on unsaturated river sand. The proposed method consists of boring a small diameter hole into the soil and inserting an Amplitude Domain Reflectometry (ADR) probe at the bottom part of the hole. Water is supplied into the hole till saturation and later de-saturated. The water content with time is determined from the ADR probe voltage potential readings. The effective porosity is determined from the difference between the saturated and de-saturated water contents. However, in the laboratory, the water is supplied through the top and bottom parts of the sample. From the experiments the obtained effective porosity ranged from 0.28 to 0.29 for wetting from the top with an average of 0.287 and 0.29 to 0.30 for wetting from the bottom with an average of 0.293. The determined effective porosity ranged from 71.7-73.3% of the real initial porosity of 0.40 of the river sand. The maximum attained degree of saturation during the experiment was 91%. The results indicated that the method will be suitable and useful in determining the effective porosity of medium grained unsaturated soils

Laboratory Investigation of Ethanol/Bentonite Slurry Grouting into Rock Fractures: Preliminary Resalts

During underground space development, groundwater seepage mostly occurs which may seriously affect the stability of deep excavations as well as retard progress of construction. For smooth progress of work, effective construction and operation of a disposal facility for high level radioactive waste (HLW), it is important to control seepage into excavations by sealing off fractures or fissures and excavation disturbed zones (EDZ) to control groundwater inflow during the construction phase of such a facility. In this study, a series of experiments were conducted on ethanol/bentonite slurries in the laboratory with the aim of determining the effect of a hydrophilic solvent such as ethanol on the hydraulic and injection characteristic of bentonite slurry for the sealing of fissures to control ground water seepage during the construction phase of a repository. Preliminary results revealed ethanol/bentonite slurry as an effective grouting material capable of penetrating micro fractures (100μm or less) and with the permeability of the grouted medium being as low as 10E-7cm/s. The results also show that the effectiveness and efficiency of grouting is dependent on the type of injection and fissure size. Dynamic injection was observed to be efficient as it was able to inject high dense slurry

Capillary cut design for soil-groundwater salinity control

Soil-groundwater salinity issues have assumed a worldwide dimension. It is believed that when groundwater level is less than 2 m there is the possibility of salinity transfer between the soil and groundwater due to factors such as capillary forces. One-dimensional column tests were conducted in the laboratory to find a suitable capillary cut design. The capillary cut material comprised a 20 cm thick 2–4.7 mm and a combination of 2–4.7 mm and 9.5–19 mm gravel material. In all, four different designs were tested by compacting Oji sand in the various columns. Groundwater level of 0.75 m from the top was maintained while salt solution of 10% concentration was allowed to flow under capillary forces through the columns. The water content in the columns were monitored using frequency domain reflectrometry-vector analyzer (FDR-V) after which soil samples from 10 m interval in each column was taken for electrical conductivity measurements. The results showed that 5 cm thick, 2–4.7 mm gravel sandwiching coarser material (e.g. 5 cm thick 9.5–19 mm or 10 cm thick 9.5–19 mm gravel material) proved to be very useful design to cut capillarity

Concepts of Repository and the Functions of Bentonite in Repository Environments: A State – of – the – art review

In an effort to secure the comfort of all aspect of life and security through electricity production, research, nuclear weapons production and medical uses, radioactive waste is being generated throughout the world as a result. Without pro – active management and protection, the hazardous nature of radioactive materials can pose serious threats to human health and the environment. A waste containment or disposal facility is required to isolate the waste from man and the biosphere to avoid any undue radiation exposure. Deep geological repository or disposal facility is considered as an effective way to isolate high level radioactive waste, HLW from the human environment, for which a multi – barrier system plays a very significant role. In this paper, literature collection was carried out, aimed to overview the present knowledge about the concepts of repository for HLW and to identify technologies that are currently available in the nuclear industry worldwide and the current state of barrier technologies for hazardous waste sites

State of the Art on Filter Design and Particle Clogging; and Proposed New Numerical Approach to Redesign

Filters are essential in the design of embankments/dams, drains and wells for water and oil supplies. As a result of these functions, filter use is increasing. In order to use the required filter, various empirical relations have been given based on mathematical and field experience. However, these guidelines have not worked to perfection considering the fact that clogging within the filter face is a serious challenge. A short review on filter design criteria is given in this script coupled with a numerical formulation to propose the design limits

Concepts of Repository and the Functions of Bentonite in Repository Environments: A State -of -the -art review

In an effort to secure the comfort of all aspect of life and security through electricity production, research, nuclear weapons production and medical uses, radioactive waste is being generated throughout the world as a result. Without pro -active management and protection, the hazardous nature of radioactive materials can pose serious threats to human health and the environment. A waste containment or disposal facility is required to isolate the waste from man and the biosphere to avoid any undue radiation exposure. Deep geological repository or disposal facility is considered as an effective way to isolate high level radioactive waste, HLW from the human environment, for which a multi -barrier system plays a very significant role. In this paper, literature collection was carried out, aimed to overview the present knowledge about the concepts of repository for HLW and to identify technologies that are currently available in the nuclear industry worldwide and the current state of barrier technologies for hazardous waste sites