The objective of this report was to investigate means to rapidly dewater fine grained soils for immediate re-use as an emergency construction material. Dewatering using polymers was the primary thrust of the research. Secondary efforts were related to the use of geotextile tubes and equipment such as clarifiers to expedite dewatering of fine grained soil for immediate re-use as an emergency construction material.
The dewatered soils are to be stabilized with cementitious materials prior to use, which is also addressed in this report. Test results indicated the approach was feasible, yet not the most practical approach for development of an emergency construction material. The research indicated emergency dewatering of contaminated sediments to be a more suitable application.
Factors leading to this decision were largely related to portable equipment availability and polymer supply/demand in a disaster environment. Settling column testing incorporating polymers provided promising results and indicated polymer dosage requirements could be lessened for this application relative to optimum rates found from gravity flow drainage testing.
Source: SERRI
Authors: Isaac L. Howard | William D.Carruth | James W. Rawlin | Richard Ferguson
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