Saturation Estimation with Complex Electrical Conductivity for Hydrate-Bearing Clayey Sediments:An Experimental Study

Clays have considerable influence on the electrical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments.It is desirable to understand the electrical properties of hydrate-bearing clayey sediments and to build hydrate saturation(S_(h))models for reservoir evaluation and monitoring.The electrical properties of tetrahydrofuran-hydrate-bearing sediments with montmorillonite are characterized by complex conductivity at frequencies from 0.01 Hz to 1 kHz.The effects of clay and Sh on the complex conductivity were analyzed.A decrease and increase in electrical conductance result from the clay-swelling-induced blockage and ion migration in the electrical double layer(EDL),respectively.The quadrature conductivity increases with the clay content up to 10%because of the increased surface site density of counterions in EDL.Both the in-phase conductivity and quadrature conductivity decrease consistently with increasing Sh from 0.50 to 0.90.Three sets of models for Sh evaluation were developed.The model based on the Simandoux equation outperforms Archie’s formula,with a root-mean-square error(E_(RMS))of 1.8%and 3.9%,respectively,highlighting the clay effects on the in-phase conductivity.The fre-quency effect correlations based on in-phase and quadrature conductivities exhibit inferior performance(E_(RMS)=11.6%and 13.2%,re-spectively)due to the challenge of choosing an appropriate pair of frequencies and intrinsic uncertainties from two measurements.The second-order Cole-Cole formula can be used to fit the complex-conductivity spectra.One pair of inverted Cole-Cole parameters,i.e.,characteristic time and chargeability,is employed to predict S_(h) with an E_(RMS) of 5.05%and 9.05%,respectively.

Sensitivity Analysis of Multi-phase Seepage Parameters Affecting the Clayey Silt Hydrate Reservoir Productivity in the Shenhu Area,South China Sea

Natural gas hydrate(NGH)is an important future resource for the 21st century and a strategic resource with potential for commercial development in the third energy transition.It is of great significance to accurately predict the productivity of hydrate-bearing sediments(HBS).The multi-phase seepage parameters of HBS include permeability,porosity,which is closely related to permeability,and hydrate saturation,which has a direct impact on hydrate content.Existing research has shown that these multi-phase seepage parameters have a great impact on HBS productivity.Permeability directly affects the transmission of pressure-drop and discharge of methane gas,porosity and initial hydrate saturation affect the amount of hydrate decomposition and transmission process of pressure-drop,and also indirectly affect temperature variation of the reservoir.Considering the spatial heterogeneity of multi-phase seepage parameters,a depressurization production model with layered heterogeneity is established based on the clayey silt hydrate reservoir at W11 station in the Shenhu Sea area of the South China Sea.Tough+Hydrate software was used to calculate the production model;the process of gas production and seepage parameter evolution under different multi-phase seepage conditions were obtained.A sensitivity analysis of the parameters affecting the reservoir productivity was conducted so that:(a)a HBS model with layered heterogeneity can better describe the transmission process of pressure and thermal compensation mechanism of hydrate reservoir;(b)considering the multi-phase seepage parameter heterogeneity,the influence degrees of the parameters on HBS productivity were permeability,porosity and initial hydrate saturation,in order from large to small,and the influence of permeability was significantly greater than that of other parameters;(c)the production potential of the clayey silt reservoir should not only be determined by hydrate content or seepage capacity,but also by the comprehensive effect of the two;and(d)time scales need to be considered when studying the effects of changes in multi-phase seepage parameters on HBS productivity.

Enhancing the elastoplastic damage constitutive model for clayey rocks: Incorporating anisotropy, saturation, time-dependent, and debonding effects

This paper introduced a novel microstructure-based constitutive model designed to comprehensively characterize the intricate mechanical behavior of anisotropic clay rocks under the influence of water saturation.The proposed model encompasses elastoplastic deformation,time-dependent behavior,and induced damage.A two-step homogenization process incorporates mineral compositions and porosity to determine the macroscopic elastic tensor and plastic yield criterion.The model also considers interfacial debonding between the matrix and inclusions to capture rock damage.The application of the proposed model is demonstrated through an analysis of Callovo-Oxfordian clayey rocks,specifically in the context of radioactive waste disposal in France.Model parameters are determined,followed by numerical simulations of various laboratory tests including lateral decompression tests with constant mean stress,triaxial compression tests under different water saturation conditions,and creep tests.The numerical results are compared with corresponding experimental data to assess the efficacy of the proposed model.

Thermomechanical and Hydrous Effect of Heavy Fuel Oil in a Building Material Based on Silty Clayey Soil

This study focuses on the use of heavy fuel oil in construction in Burkina Faso.Mixed with silty and/or clay soil,it is used as a coating to reinforce the walls of raw soil constructions which are very sensitive to water.The interest of this paper is to shed light on the thermomechanical and above all water effects of heavy fuel oil on a sample of silty clayey soil.To achieve this,we used heavy fuel oil added in different proportions to silty clayey soil,to make sample of bricks on which tests were carried out.At the end of the experimental tests carried out on materials made(bricks)with our soil sample,it appears that heavy fuel oil moderately reduces the mechanical resistance of bricks and slightly increases thermal diffusion through them.On the contrary,we note a very good water resistance of the bricks thanks to the heavy fuel oil,in particular their water absorption by capillarity.This confirms that the mixture of heavy fuel oil and a silty-clayey soil used as a coating makes it possible to prevent the infiltration of water into the walls of raw soil constructions.However,its use as a construction material does not guarantee very good mechanical resistance,and slightly increases thermal diffusion.

Determination of undrained shear strength using piezocone penetration test in clayey soil for bridge foundation

In order to obtain the reasonable undrained shear strength Su for geotechnical analyses of bridge foundations in Yangtze River floodplain clayey soils, a site-specific study is conducted using the imported piezocone penetration test （CPTu） with dissipation phases at the Fourth Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge construction sites. Taking the values of Su from laboratory tests as references, several existing Su-predicted methods based on CPTu are compared and evaluated. To verify the presented cone factor Nk, additional test sites are selected and examined. The results show that the values of cone factors such as Nkt, Nke, and Nau, depend on the shear test mode and disturbance. Generally, the values of Nke show more scattering than those of Nkt and N△u. For the stratified and layered sediments of the Yangtze River floodplain, it is recommended using the net cone resistance qT to estimate Su and the preliminary cone factor values Nkt are from 7 to 16, with an average of 11. It is also confirmed that the CPTu test, as a new technique in site characterization, can present reasonable parameters for bridge foundations.

Bearing capacity and settlement of strip footing on geosynthetic reinforced clayey slopes

The effect of geosynthetic reinforcing on bearing capacity of a strip footing resting on georeinforced clayey slopes was investigated.The results of a series of numerical study using finite element analyses on strip footing upon both reinforced and unreinforced clayey slopes were presented.The objectives of this work are to:1) determine the influence of reinforcement on the bearing-capacity of the strip footings adjacent slopes,2) suggest an optimum number of reinforcement and 3) survey the effect of friction angle in clayey soils reinforced by geogrids.The investigations were carried out by varying the edge distance of the footing from slope.Also different numbers of geosynthetic layers were applied to obtaining the maximum bearing capacity and minimum settlement.To achieve the third objective,two different friction angles were used.The results show that the load?settlement behavior and ultimate bearing capacity of footing can be considerably improved by the inclusion of reinforcing layer.But using more than one layer reinforcement,the ultimate bearing capacity does not change considerably.It is also shown that for both reinforced and unreinforced slopes,the bearing capacity increases with an increase in edge distance.In addition,as the soil friction angle is increased,the efficiency of reinforcing reduces.

Effects of oil contamination and bioremediation on geotechnical properties of highly plastic clayey soil

Leakage of oil and its derivatives into the soil can change the engineering behavior of soil as well as cause environmental disasters.Also,recovering the contaminated sites into their natural condition and making contaminated materials as both environmentally and geotechnically suitable construction materials need the employment of remediation techniques.Bioremediation,as an efficient,low cost and environmentalfriendly approach,was used in the case of highly plastic clayey soils.To better understand the change in geotechnical properties of highly plastic fine-grained soil due to crude oil contamination and bioremediation,Atterberg limits,compaction,unconfined compression,direct shear,and consolidation tests were conducted on natural,contaminated,and bioremediated soil samples to investigate the effects of contamination and remediation on fine-grained soil properties.Oil contamination reduced maximum dry density(MDD),optimum moisture content(OMC),unconfined compressive strength(UCS),shear strength,swelling pressure,and coefficient of consolidation of soil.In addition,contamination increased the compression and swelling indices and compressibility of soil.Bioremediation reduced soil contamination by about 50%.Moreover,in comparison with contaminated soil,bioremediation reduced the MDD,UCS,swelling index,free swelling and swelling pressure of soil,and also increased OMC,shear strength,cohesion,internal friction angle,failure strain,porosity,compression index,and settlement.Microstructural analyses showed that oil contamination does not alter the soil structure in terms of chemical compounds,elements,and constituent minerals.While it decreased the specific surface area of the soil,and the bioremediation significantly increased the mentioned parameters.Bioremediation resulted in the formation of quasi-fibrous textures and porous and agglomerated structures.As a result,oil contamination affected the mechanical properties of soil negatively,but bioremediation improved these properties.

Large borehole with multi-lateral branches: A novel solution for exploitation of clayey silt hydrate

Raising the in situ decomposition rate of natural gas hydrate and increasing the decomposition contact area are two main ways to raise the productivity of hydrate. An exploitation technique based on large borehole with multi-lateral branches (LB & MB) was proposed in this paper. This technique is mainly intended for the clayey silt hydrate reservoir in the South China Sea, and its main purpose is to alleviate the sand output from formation for maintaining the stability of the reservoir and to greatly increase the gas productivity of the reservoir. In this paper, the following aspects were mainly expounded: definition of the basic geometric parameters for layout of multi-lateral branches in clayey silt hydrate reservoir, simulation of the stimulation effect of a typical well profile with two branches, and prediction and simulation of the reservoir failure risk in a well profile with eight branches. The results show that the LB & MB effectively improves the flow field in the formation, raises the productivity of the reservoir and may also help to decrease the produced water-gas ratio (WGR). When the lateral branches spacing is too small, the failure zones around adjacent lateral branches overlap each other, possibly causing reservoir failure in a larger range. Therefore, the geometric parameters of multi-lateral branches depend on the dual control of the productivity and geotechnical risk factor of reservoir. Further study is being carried out, so as to obtain the optimal combination of parameters of multi-lateral branches.

Shear strength of clayey sand treated by nanoclay mixed with recycled polyester fiber

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of the nanoclay mixed with recycled polyester fiber on the mechanical behavior of soil as a new stabilizer material.To meet this objective,a series of drained direct shear and compaction tests were performed on unreinforced and reinforced soil specimens with three different combinations of the fiber-soil ratios ranging between 0.1%and 0.5%,as well as three different combinations of nanoclay soil ratios ranging between 0.5%and 1.5%of the soil dry weight.Results indicated that composition of the nanoclay recycled polyester fiber with the soil improved the friction angle(Φ)by 41%and cohesion(c)by 174%.The soil particles stick together through viscose gel produced by nanoclay.In addition,the rough and wavy surface of the fibers creates a bond and friction between the soil particles and prevents the movement of soil particles,and as a result,the soil strength is increased.

The inf luence of soil drying- and tillage-induced penetration resistance on maize root growth in a clayey soil

Soil drying may induce a number of stresses on crops. This paper investigated maize（Zea mays L.） root growth as affected by drought and soil penetration resistance（PR）, which was caused by soil drying and tillage in a clayey red soil. Compared with conventional tillage（C） and deep tillage（D）, soil compaction（P） and no-till（N） significantly increased soil PR in the 0-15 cm layer. The PR increased dramatically as the soil drying increased, particularly in soil with a high bulk density. Increased soil PR reduced the maize root mass density distribution not only in the vertical profile（0-20 cm） but also in the horizontal layer at the same distance（0-5, 5-10, 10-15 cm） from the maize plant. With an increase in soil PR in pots, the maize root length, root surface area and root volume significantly decreased. Specifically, the maize root length declined exponentially from 309 to 64 cm per plant with an increase in soil PR from 491 to 3 370 k Pa; the roots almost stopped elongating when the soil PR was larger than 2 200 k Pa. It appeared that fine roots（〈2.5 mm in diameter） thickened when the soil PR increased, resulting in a larger average root diameter. The average root diameter increased linearly with soil PR, regardless of soil irrigation or drought. The results suggest that differences in soil PR caused by soil drying is most likely responsible for inconsistent root responses to water stress in different soils.

Non-destructive experimental testing and modeling of electrical impedance behavior of untreated and treated ultra-soft clayey soils

The characterization of ultra-soft clayey soil exhibits extreme challenges due to low shear strength of such material.Hence,inspecting the non-destructive electrical impedance behavior of untreated and treated ultra-soft clayey soils gains more attention.Both shear strength and electrical impedance were measured experimentally for both untreated and treated ultra-soft clayey soils.The shear strength of untreated ultra-soft clayey soil reached 0.17 kPa for 10% bentonite content,while the shear strengths increased to 0.27 kPa and 6.7 kPa for 10% bentonite content treated with 2% lime and 10% polymer,respectively.The electrical impedance of the ultra-soft clayey soil has shown a significant decrease from 1.6 kΩ to 0.607 kΩ when the bentonite content increased from 2% to 10% at a frequency of 300 kHz.The10%lime and 10% polymer treatments have decreased the electrical impedances of ultra-soft clayey soil with 10%bentonite from 0.607 kΩ to 0.12 kΩ and 0.176 kΩ,respectively,at a frequency of 300 kHz.A new mathematical model has been accordingly proposed to model the non-destructive electrical impedancefrequency relationship for both untreated and treated ultra-soft clayey soils.The new model has shown a good agreement with experimental data with coefficient of determination（R;）up to 0.99 and root mean square error（RMSE） of 0.007 kΩ.

Characterization of Clayey Soils from Congo and Physical Properties of Their Compressed Earth Blocks Reinforced with Post-Consumer Plastic Wastes

Physical properties of compressed earth blocks reinforced with plastic wastes are compared to those of nonreinforced ones. These bricks are made with two clayey soils from two deposits of Congo located in Brazzaville and Yengola. Mineralogical and geotechnical analysis revealed that the soil of Brazzaville is mainly composed of kaolinite whereas that of Yengola is a mixture of kaolinite and illite. The amounts of clay (46 and 48%, respectively) are higher than those usually recommended for bricks’ production without stabilizers. Despite this difference of mineralogical compositions, the physical properties of these soils are quite similar. The compressive strength of the resulted bricks compacted with an energy of 2.8 MPa is about 1.5 MPa, which is the lower limit value allowed for adobes. Reinforcing with polyethylene waste nets increased the strength by about 20 to 30% and slightly enhanced resistance to water, Young’s modulus and strain to failure. However, the reinforcement had no significant effect either on bricks’ curing length or on their shrinkage.

Determination of Water Colltent in Clayey Red Soil Using Techniques Based on Measurement of Dielectric Constant

Two time-domain reflectometry (TDR) systems and a new impedance measuring instrument, Thetaprobe,which are based on determination of soil dielectric constant, were used to measure water content of clayeyred soil to eraluate the accuracy of these instruments. The results indicated that these instruments shouldbe carefUlly re-calibrated before being applied in clayey red soil. With a new calibration curve fed into one ofthe TDR systems tested, nase system, the measured data compared well with tho8e by standard oven-dryingmethod.

Electro-osmotic chemical behavior of clayey soil under various boundary conditions

The use of electro-osmotic chemical is an effective method to improve the clayey soil foundation.Various boundary conditions can be adopted in this method.In this work,two electrode–clay contacts,three solution conditioners,and four anode solution supply times were used for clayey soil improvement.Based on the experimental data,electro-osmotic consolidation theory,and transport of ion theory,it is found that the electro-osmotic chemical effect of the separation of electrode–clay(E_S)is more beneficial for the transport of Ca^(2+),production of cementing material,and reduction of water content than that of electrode–clay(E_C)joining;through electrode–clay contact separation,the anode solution conditioner(NaPO3)6(E_SHMP)delayed the cementing reaction and then increased the transport of Ca^(2+)near the cathode,which increased the amount of cementing material and the electro-osmotic chemical effect;and when the anode conditioner(NaPO3)6 was used,two days of anode solution supply followed by three days cut off from the anode solution led to the highest undrained shear strength increase after the application of electro-osmotic chemical,which resolved the uneven electro-osmotic chemical effect in the E_SHMP.

Effect of adding natural pozzolana on geotechnical properties of lime-stabilized clayey soil

Clayey soils in Syria cover a total area of more than 20,000 km2 of the country, most of which are located in the southwestern region. In many places of the country, the clayey soils caused severe damage to infrastructures. Extensive studies have been carried out on the stabilization of clayey soils using lime. Syria is rich in both lime and natural pozzolana. However, few works have been conducted to investigate the influence of adding natural pozzolana on the geotechnical properties of lime-treated clayey soils. The aim of this paper is to understand the effect of adding natural pozzolana on some geotechnical properties of lime-stabilized clayey soils. Natural pozzolana and lime are added to soil within the range of 0%–20% and 0%–8%, respectively. Consistency, compaction, California bearing ratio （CBR） and linear shrinkage properties are particularly investigated. The test results show that the investigated properties of lime-treated clayey soils can be considerably enhanced when the natural pozzolana is added as a stabilizing agent. Analysis results of scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX） show significant changes in the microstructure of the treated clayey soil. A better flocculation of clayey particles and further formation of cementing materials in the natural pozzolana-lime-treated clayey soil are clearly observed.

Kozeny-Carman Equation and Hydraulic Conductivity of Compacted Clayey Soils

The saturated hydraulic conductivity of a soil is the main parameter for modeling the water flow through the soil and determination of seepage losses. In addition, hydraulic conductivity of compacted soil layers is critical component for designing liner and cover systems for waste landfills. Hydraulic conductivity can be predicted using empirical relationships, capillary models, statistical models and hydraulic radius theories [1]. In the current research work the reliability of Kozeny-Carman equation for the determination of the hydraulic conductivity of compacted clayey soils, is evaluated. The relationship between the liquid limit and the specific surface of the tested samples is also investigated. The resulting equation gives the ability for quick estimation of specific surface and hydraulic conductivity of the compacted clayey samples. The results presented here show that the Kozeny-Carman equation provides good predictions of the hydraulic conductivity of homogenized clayey soils compacted under given compactive effort, despite the consensus set out in the literature.

Pile-clayey soil interaction analysis by boundary element method

This paper is an attempt to solve the soil-pile interaction problems using the boundary element method（BEM）.A computer package called PGroupN,which deals mainly with the analysis of the pile group problem,is employed in this study.Parametric studies are carried out to assess the impacts of the pile diameter,pile length,ratio of spacing to diameter and the thickness of soil stratum.The external load is applied incrementally and,at each increment,a check is made that the stress state at the pile-soil interfaces does not violate the yield criteria.This is achieved by specifying the limited stresses of the soil for the axial pile shaft capacity and end-bearing resistance.The elements of the pile-soil interface yielded can take no additional load,and any increase in load is therefore redistributed between the remaining elements until all elements have failed.Thus,by successive application of loading increments,the entire load-displacement relationship for the pile group is determined.It is found that as the applied load reaches the ultimate bearing capacity of the pile group,all the piles will share the same amount of load.An exception to this case is for the center pile in a group of 9 piles embedded in clay,which is not consistent with the behaviors of the other piles in the group even if the load reaches the ultimate state.For the 4 piles group embedded in clay,the maximum load carried by the base does not exceed 8% of the load carried by each pile with different diameters.This low percentage ascertains that the piles embedded in cohesive soils carry most of the load throughout their shafts.

Structural bonding-breakage constitutive model for natural unsaturated clayey soils

The natural clayey soils are usually structural and unsaturated,which makes their mechanical properties quite different from the remolded saturated soils.A structural constitutive model is proposed to simulate the bonding-breakage micro-mechanism.In this model,the unsaturated soil element is divided into a cementation element and a friction element according to the binary medium theory,and the stress-strain coordination for these two elements is obtained. The cementation element is regarded as elastic,whereas the friction element is regarded as elastoplastic which can be described with the Gallipoli＇s model.The theoretical formulation is verified with the comparative experiments of isotropic compressions on the saturated and unsaturated structural soils.Parametric analyses of the effects of damage variables on the model predictions are further carried out,which show that breakage deformation of natural clayey soils increases with the rising amount of initial defects.

Function of Palm Fiber in Stabilization of Alluvial Clayey Soil in Yangtze River Estuary

Palm fiber is one of the favorable materials used in stabilization of soft soil in geotechnical engineering projects in recent years due to its nature of sustainability,no harm to the environment,biodegradability,availability and costeffectiveness in the context of widespread appeal from the world for returning to nature and protecting the earth our homestead.This paper is aimed at exploring the mechanical performance of Shanghai clayey soil reinforced with palm fiber.The unconfined compressive tests are carried out on samples treated with palm fibers of different lengths and contents,and the unconfined compressive strength(UCS),ductility rate(DR),secant modulus(SM),energy absorption capacity(EAC)and failure pattern(FP)of the reinforced and unreinforced samples have been analyzed with regard to their relationship with palm fiber contents and lengths.Then multiple regression,grey correlation and general correlation relationship analysis are applied to the resultant test data so as to obtain the mathematical and statistical equation of related soil indexes.It has been concluded from the analysis that the unconfined compressive strength,ductility and energy absorption capacity of reinforced soil will increase with the increase in content and length of palm fiber,which are maximized when palm fiber content and length are 0.4%and 15 mm,respectively.On the contrary,the secant modulus of reinforced soil decreases considerably with content and length of palm fiber as a whole.Additionally,the failure pattern also changes from brittle to ductile gradually with the content and length of palm fiber.The data provided by the analysis of reinforced soil can be referred to and used for the related geotechnical engineering in the future.And the mathematical model obtained from the statistical regression is significantly meaningful because it can be used to predict the soil performance without the need for doing the additional tests,with saving in cost and time.What’s more,the application of palm fiber to soft soil is completely in accordance to the concept of sustainable development and environment protection.

Elaboration of a Road Material Based on Clayey Soil and Crushed Sand

To contribute to the enhancement of unconventional local materials used for road construction,this study characterizes a crushed sand 0/5,a clayey soil and the litho-stabilized material without and with hydraulic binder and determines their use in accordance with some reference specifications(CEBTP 1984).It is shown that the different components are not usable alone in pavement base.Indeed,the plasticity index obtained for the clayey soil is 21%,a value higher than the imposed standards.In addition,the grading of the 0/5 crushed sand does not fit into the range proposed by CEBTP.A combination of these two(02)components is therefore considered to obtain a suitable material usable for the sub-base.This new material does not enter any class of the CEBTP lateritic soils.In order to be used in base layer,a treatment with hydraulic binder is carried out with the intention to improve its mechanical performances.The optimal dosage of hydraulic binder to achieve the desired mechanical performance is obtained by studying the evolution of the mechanical characteristics of the mixture.After this treatment,the Bearing Ratio index of the mix increases from 37 to 223 for the optimal dosage and the dry compaction density decreases from 2.11 to 2.06 g/cm3 while the optimal water content increases from 9%to 10.1%.