What is it about?
The effect of salt on water holding properties in marine soil is known, but seldom quantified. How salts affect the water bonding energy within marine soil (also called as osmotic suction) during drying and wetting cycles has been explored in this study. The rate of water evaporation or ingress in marine soil and associated effects such as cracking and settlement of soil depends on this osmotic effect and is important to understand as offshore infrastructure is constructed on these soils/using these soils.
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Why is it important?
Predicting behaviour of marine soils and its improvement has always been challenging for offshore and coastal region projects, and removing water from marine soil and monitoring its associated compressibility is an important step for improving the performance of marine soils. The mechanism of water flow in marine soil during drying/wetting or under external loading cannot be fully understood without the quantification of effect of salts on the water bonding energy within marine soils. The study is a step forward in this direction.
Perspectives
The study demonstrates a unique attempt to quantify the osmotic suction (effect of salts on water bonding energy) for marine soils along the drying and wetting paths. The methodology proposed in the study can be utilised for expanding this understanding for marine soils around the world. A careful introspection of the study findings, can help to take forward efforts in improving understanding of the unique characteristics of marine soil in near future.
Kannan Iyer
Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Investigation to Quantify Suction Characteristics of Marine Soil during Drying and Wetting Cycles, Geotechnical Testing Journal, April 2020, ASTM International,
DOI: 10.1520/gtj20190199.
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