Cement Bentonite Thin Diaphragm Wall. Innovative Technology Summary Report
Some of the most pressing environmental restoration needs at DOE, other government, and industrial sites involve cleanup or containment of radioactive material, heavy metals, and organic contaminants in soils and groundwater. In the past, wastes were buried in or dumped into unlined pits with the idea that surrounding soil would act as a natural barrier between the waste and the groundwater. Contaminant migration from these sites is of concern; methods are needed to control the migration of contaminants in the subsurface. Baseline remediation approaches for these sites consists of pump and treatment of groundwater and excavation, treatment (in some cases), and disposal of soils. These approaches can be expensive and/or require numerous years for remediation. Short-term and long-term containment can be achieved by emplacement of impermeable (physical hydraulic control) barriers to divert groundwater flow or isolate subsurface contaminants. Emplacement of physical hydraulic control barriers in unstable soils, near foundations, and around underground obstructions can be problematic, cost prohibitive, and/or technically impractical. High-pressure jet grouting has been demonstrated as an innovative and cost-effective emplacement method for the construction of subsurface physical, containment barriers, known as thin-diaphragm walls. The walls are emplaced by using high-pressure jetting of slurry into native soils in the target zone and when solidified create a low-permeability zone of minimal thickness (Figure 1). Continuous containment barriers to isolate subsurface contaminants are created by placing a series of intersecting panels in various geometries. Thin-diaphragm walls are emplaced by jetting through two relatively horizontal and opposing nozzles as the drill string is extracted without rotation. During injection, the high-pressure jet fluidizes or erodes a cavity in the soil into which the slurry solidifies. This document contains information on the above-mentioned technology, including description, applicability, cost, and performance data.
- Research Organization:
- Dover Air Force Base, DE (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science and Technology (OST) (EM-50) (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 779469
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EM-0551; OST/TMS ID 2060; OST/TMS ID 2060
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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