Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Geomembranes
- All Subjects: Stabilization
- Creators: Zapata, Claudia
Description
This dissertation describes development of a procedure for obtaining high quality, optical grade sand coupons from frozen sand specimens of Ottawa 20/30 sand for image processing and analysis to quantify soil structure along with a methodology for quantifying the microstructure from the images. A technique for thawing and stabilizing frozen core samples was developed using optical grade Buehler® Epo-Tek® epoxy resin, a modified triaxial cell, a vacuum/reservoir chamber, a desiccator, and a moisture gauge. The uniform epoxy resin impregnation required proper drying of the soil specimen, application of appropriate confining pressure and vacuum levels, and epoxy mixing, de-airing and curing. The resulting stabilized sand specimen was sectioned into 10 mm thick coupons that were planed, ground, and polished with progressively finer diamond abrasive grit levels using the modified Allied HTP Inc. polishing method so that the soil structure could be accurately quantified using images obtained with the use of an optical microscopy technique. Illumination via Bright Field Microscopy was used to capture the images for subsequent image processing and sand microstructure analysis. The quality of resulting images and the validity of the subsequent image morphology analysis hinged largely on employment of a polishing and grinding technique that resulted in a flat, scratch free, reflective coupon surface characterized by minimal microstructure relief and good contrast between the sand particles and the surrounding epoxy resin. Subsequent image processing involved conversion of the color images first to gray scale images and then to binary images with the use of contrast and image adjustments, removal of noise and image artifacts, image filtering, and image segmentation. Mathematical morphology algorithms were used on the resulting binary images to further enhance image quality. The binary images were then used to calculate soil structure parameters that included particle roundness and sphericity, particle orientation variability represented by rose diagrams, statistics on the local void ratio variability as a function of the sample size, and the local void ratio distribution histograms using Oda's method and Voronoi tessellation method, including the skewness, kurtosis, and entropy of a gamma cumulative probability distribution fit to the local void ratio distribution.
ContributorsCzupak, Zbigniew David (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Zapata, Claudia (Committee member) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
It is estimated that wind induced soil transports more than 500 x 106 metric tons of fugitive dust annually. Soil erosion has negative effects on human health, the productivity of farms, and the quality of surface waters. A variety of different polymer stabilizers are available on the market for fugitive dust control. Most of these polymer stabilizers are expensive synthetic polymer products. Their adverse effects and expense usually limits their use. Biopolymers provide a potential alternative to synthetic polymers. They can provide dust abatement by encapsulating soil particles and creating a binding network throughout the treated area. This research into the effectiveness of biopolymers for fugitive dust control involved three phases. Phase I included proof of concept tests. Phase II included carrying out the tests in a wind tunnel. Phase III consisted of conducting the experiments in the field. Proof of concept tests showed that biopolymers have the potential to reduce soil erosion and fugitive dust transport. Wind tunnel tests on two candidate biopolymers, xanthan and chitosan, showed that there is a proportional relationship between biopolymer application rates and threshold wind velocities. The wind tunnel tests also showed that xanthan gum is more successful in the field than chitosan. The field tests showed that xanthan gum was effective at controlling soil erosion. However, the chitosan field data was inconsistent with the xanthan data and field data on bare soil.
ContributorsAlsanad, Abdullah (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Edwards, David (Committee member) / Zapata, Claudia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
A series of experiments were conducted to support validation of a numerical model for the performance of geomembrane liners subject to waste settlement and seismic loading. These experiments included large scale centrifuge model testing of a geomembrane-lined landfill, small scale laboratory testing to get the relevant properties of the materials used in the large scale centrifuge model, and tensile tests on seamed geomembrane coupons. The landfill model in the large scale centrifuge test was built with a cemented sand base, a thin film NafionTM geomembrane liner, and a mixture of sand and peat for model waste. The centrifuge model was spun up to 60 g, allowed to settle, and then subjected to seismic loading at three different peak ground accelerations (PGA). Strain on the liner and settlement of the waste during model spin-up and subsequent seismic loading and accelerations throughout the model due to seismic loading were acquired from sensors within the model. Laboratory testing conducted to evaluate the properties of the materials used in the model included triaxial compression tests on the cemented sand base, wide-width tensile testing of the thin film geomembrane, interface shear testing between the thin film geomembrane and the waste material, and one dimensional compression and cyclic direct simple shear testing of the sand-peat mixture used to simulate the waste. The tensile tests on seamed high-density polyethylene (HDPE) coupons were conducted to evaluate strain concentration associated with seams oriented perpendicular to an applied tensile load. Digital image correlation (DIC) was employed to evaluate the strain field, and hence seam strain concentrations, in these tensile tests. One-dimensional compression tests were also conducted on composite sand and HDPE samples to evaluate the compressive modulus of HDPE. The large scale centrifuge model and small scale laboratory tests provide the necessary data for numerical model validation. The tensile tests on seamed HDPE specimens show that maximum tensile strain due to strain concentrations at a seam is greater than previously suggested, a finding with profound implications for landfill liner design and construction quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) practices. The results of the one-dimensional compression tests on composite sand-HDPE specimens were inconclusive.
ContributorsGutierrez, Angel (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Zapata, Claudia (Committee member) / Jang, Jaewon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
A numerical model for design of the geomembrane elements of waste containment systems has been validated by laboratory testing. Due to the absence of any instrumented case histories of seismic performance of geomembrane liner systems, a large scale centrifuge test of a model geomembrane-lined landfill subject to seismic loading was conducted at the University of California at Davis Centrifuge Test facility as part of National Science Foundation Network for Earthquake the Engineering Simulation Research (NEESR) program. Data collected in the large scale centrifuge test included waste settlement, liner strains and earthquake accelerations at various locations throughout the model. This data on landfill and liner seismic performance has been supplemented with additional laboratory and small scale centrifuge tests to determine the parameters required for the numerical model, including strength and stiffness of the model materials, interface shear strengths, and interface stiffness. The numerical model explicitly assesses the forces and strains in the geomembrane elements of a containment system to subject to both static and seismic loads the computer code FLACTM, a finite difference program for non-linear analysis of continua. The model employs a beam element with zero moment of inertia and with interface elements on both sides to model to represent the geomembrane elements in the liner system. The model also includes non-linear constitutive models for the stress-strain behavior of geomembrane beam elements and an elastic-perfectly plastic model for the load-displacement behavior of the beam interfaces. Parametric studies are conducted with the validated numerical model to develop recommendations for landfill design, construction, and construction quality assurance.
ContributorsWu, Xuan (Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering) (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Zapata, Claudia (Committee member) / Jang, Jaewon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Laboratory testing was conducted to quantify strain concentrations adjacent to seams and scratches in high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes. The tensile strain profile of remnants meeting the ASTM criteria for wide-width tensile testing from samples of field seams recovered for construction quality assurance testing was evaluated using digital image correlation (DIC). Strains adjacent to scratches on laboratory prepared samples loaded in tension were also measured using DIC. The tensile strain in the zone adjacent to a seam and the tensile strain adjacent to a scratch were compared to the tensile strains calculated using theoretical strain concentration factors. The relationship between the maximum tensile strain adjacent to a seam and the global nominal strain in the sample was quantified for textured and smooth geomembranes of common thicknesses. Using statistical analysis of the data, bounds were developed for the allowable nominal tensile strain expected to induce maximum tensile strains adjacent to the seam less than or equal to the typical yield strain of HDPE geomembranes, at several confidence levels. Where nominal strain is the global or average strain applied to the sample and maximum strain is the largest tensile strain induced in the sample.
The reduction in the nominal yield strain due to a scratch in a HDPE geomembrane was also quantified. The yield strain was approximately the same as predicted using theoretical strain concentration factors. The difference in the average measured maximum strains adjacent to the seams of textured and smooth HDPE geomembranes was found to be statistically insignificant. However, maximum strains adjacent to extrusion welded seams were somewhat greater than adjacent to fusion welded seams for nominal strains on the order of 3% to 4%. The results of the testing program suggest that the nominal tensile strain should be limited to 4% around dual hot wedge seams and 3% around extrusion fillet seams to avoid maximum strains equal to 11%, a typical yield strain for HDPE geomembranes.
The reduction in the nominal yield strain due to a scratch in a HDPE geomembrane was also quantified. The yield strain was approximately the same as predicted using theoretical strain concentration factors. The difference in the average measured maximum strains adjacent to the seams of textured and smooth HDPE geomembranes was found to be statistically insignificant. However, maximum strains adjacent to extrusion welded seams were somewhat greater than adjacent to fusion welded seams for nominal strains on the order of 3% to 4%. The results of the testing program suggest that the nominal tensile strain should be limited to 4% around dual hot wedge seams and 3% around extrusion fillet seams to avoid maximum strains equal to 11%, a typical yield strain for HDPE geomembranes.
ContributorsAndresen, Jake (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis advisor) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Zapata, Claudia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017