Seminar Topic:
Soil slurry dredged from seabed has been used as fill materials for land reclamation in both China and Singapore. A major problem encountered in this approach is that soil slurry is very watery and the dewatering process is difficult and time-consuming. Chemical flocculants can help enhance the dewatering process by increasing the dewatering rate of slurry and modifying geotechnical properties of soil formed from the deposition of slurry. In this study, we explore the feasibility of using chemical flocculants in land reclamation projects by conducting column settling tests, oedometer tests, particle size analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. In the column settling tests, it is observed that the use of flocculant can lead to a much faster sedimentation rate than that in pure soil slurry in the tested range of flocculant additions (0-3 g/kg dry soil) and water contents (100.7-879.5%). Results from particle size analysis and scanning electron microscopic analysis show that by adding flocculants into soil slurry, flocs (assemblage of soil particles) are effectively formed in soil slurry, and soils formed from the deposition of slurry have a unique fabric as compared with pure soil. Methods for field applications of flocculants in land reclamation are also proposed.
About the Speaker:
Dr. He Jia is a lecturer at the Geotechnical Research Institute, Hohai University, China. He obtained his PhD from NTU in 2013 and worked as a research fellow from 2013 to 2015 for a JTC sponsored project on land reclamation. His research interests include soil improvement, land reclamation, and microbial methods in geotechnical engineering. He is the Principal Investigator for several funded research projects.
Venue: CEE Seminar Room B, Block N1, Level B1, N1-B1b-16, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
To register, please contact GAbriel Chen at gabrielchen@e9000.com.sg.