Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: To address the challenge of high permeability in coastal silty sand foundation pits, which is prone to seepage failure, this study investigated the improvement effects of three chemical stabilizers-sodium silicate, calcium lignosulfonate, and sodium polyacrylate-on the permeability characteristics of undisturbed silty sand using a self-designed seepage test system. The results demonstrated that the cumulative erosion mass of the untreated soil increased exponentially over time, with an erosion rate as high as 89.39 g/min. In contrast, the cumulative erosion mass of the silty sand treated with any of the three chemical stabilizers exhibited a trend of initial increase followed by stabilization, and the erosion rates were all reduced to below 30 g/min. Notably, under the conditions of 4% dosage and 6 hours of curing, sodium polyacrylate reduced the erosion rate to 3.98 g/min, limited the cumulative erosion mass to only 35 g, stabilized the permeability coefficient within the range of 10 ⁻ ⁶ to 10 ⁻ ⁷ cm/s, and shortened the permeability stabilization time to 6.3 minutes. Its improvement effect was superior to that of the other two stabilizers, meeting the anti-seepage requirements for high-standard cut-off walls. The research findings provide efficient and reliable chemical improvement solutions and a theoretical basis for anti-seepage engineering in foundation pits under complex coastal geological conditions.
Source: PLoS ONE
Authors: Hai Sang, Bin Xiong, Chuan Jin, Deying Tang, Neng Xiong, Yifan Chen
Institution: Chongqing Jiaotong University
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
OpenAlex ID: W4415397761