Rapid Repair of Cracks on the Embankment Slopes Using Bio-Cement

The goal of the research is to explore the use of bio-cement for rapid repair of cracks on the embankment slopes. Slope failures are often induced by surface cracks which are widely present on the embankment slopes. To date, most rapid repair methods for slope failures (e.g., geosynthetics, soil nails, plastic pins, and lime, etc.) involve large earth work, special installation equipment, and/or special construction processes, which may require long construction time, disturb the traffic, and increase the cost of the whole project. This research will explore the feasibility of using bio-cement to seal, waterproof, and cement the cracks on the embankment slopes. This bio-cement can seal, waterproof, and cement slope cracks in a relatively short time (e.g., 12 hours) due to its fast reaction rate. The preliminary direct shear tests performed by the PI showed that the shear strength of the soil cracks (i.e., failure plane) increased by 50 – 100 % in a relatively short time (8 to 12 hours). Furthermore, bio-cement utilizes a low-viscosity and eco-friendly bio-grout that can be easily percolated into the cracks on the slopes without the need of a pressurized pump. Thus, no special installation equipment and no special construction process are required, which saves the construction time and budget. The PI envisioned that field slope repair using bio-cement could be simply achieved by percolating bio-grout into the cracks at the slope surface using several buckets of bio-grout. Maintaining the statewide highway embankment systems is a major challenge with considerable impacts on the limited budgets of state DOTs. This research will have the potential to offer state DOTs a fast and cost-effective repair method for maintaining highway embankment slopes. This research will provide a quick, non-traffic disturbed, and cost-effective repair method (i.e., bio-cement) for sealing, waterproofing, and cementing slope cracks on highway embankments. This slope repair method will ultimately minimize the life-cycle cost for maintaining highway embankment slopes for state DOTs.

• Record URL:
  https://transet.lsu.edu/research-in-progress/
• Supplemental Notes:
  • 20GTLSU11

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $ 90001
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747106

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Transportation Consortium of South-Central States (Tran-SET)

  Louisiana State University
  Baton Rouge, LA  United States  70803
• Project Managers:

  Mousa, Momen

• Performing Organizations:

  Louisiana State University

  3660G Patrick F. Taylor Hall
  Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Baton Rouge, LA  United States  70803
• Principal Investigators:

  Lin, Hai

• Start Date: 20200801
• Expected Completion Date: 20220201
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Biological materials; Cement; Cement additives; Cracking; Embankments; Feasibility analysis; Repairing; Shear strength; Slope failure
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01757499
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Consortium of South-Central States (Tran-SET)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747106
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 10 2020 3:44PM