Temperature effects on dredged slurry performance under vacuum preloading
Jun Wang, Yuanqiang Cai, Guohui Yuan, Hongtao Fu, Wentao Sun, Xiuqing Hu, Peng Wang, Junfeng Ni
Abstract
Under appropriate temperature conditions, vacuum preloading can effectively accelerate the rate of soil consolidation. If the temperature is low (30 °C), vacuum preloading is less effective at consolidating the soil. If temperature is extremely high, vacuum preloading is less efficient at consolidating the soil due to the consummation of excess energy consumed. In this study, a series of laboratory tests was conducted to analyse the effects that temperature has on dredged slurry consolidation via vacuum pressure using constant and variable heating modes. During these tests, heat transfer, water discharge, surface settlement, and pore-water pressure dissipation were observed in the soil samples. Based on the laboratory test measurements, each soil sample’s horizontal coefficient of consolidation, water content, and shear strength were determined. To quantify the energy consumption of the different heating modes, the ratios of energy consumption as a function of the soil’s total water discharge and mean shear strength were determined. Using these parameters, an optimal soil consolidation temperature was obtained. The results indicated that vacuum preloading was most effective in consolidating the soil under a constant temperature of 75 °C rather than variable temperatures.