Micro computed tomography images of capillary actions in rough and irregular granular materials.

The present work investigates the effect of both surface roughness and particle morphology on the retention behaviour of granular materials via X-ray micro-computed tomography (µCT) observations. X-ray µCT images were taken on two types of spherical glass beads (i.e. smooth and rough) and two different sands (i.e. natural and roughened). Each sample was subjected to drainage and soaking paths consisting in a multiphase 'static' flow of potassium iodine (KI) brine (wetting phase) and dry air (non-wetting phase). Tomograms were obtained at different saturation states ranging from fully brine saturated to air dry conditions with 6.2 µm voxel size resolution. The data acquisition and pre-processing are here described while all data, a total of 48 tomograms, are made publicly available. The combined dataset offers new opportunities to study the influence of surface roughness and particle morphology on capillary actions as well as supporting validation of pore-scale models of multiphase flow in granular materials.

Advances in Enzyme Induced Carbonate Precipitation and Application to Soil Improvement: A Review.

Climate change and global warming have prompted a notable shift towards sustainable geotechnics and construction materials within the geotechnical engineer's community. Earthen construction materials, in particular, are considered sustainable due to their inherent characteristics of having low embodied and operational energies, fire resistance, and ease of recyclability. Despite these attributes, they have not been part of the mainstream construction due to their susceptibility to water-induced deterioration. Conventional soil improvement techniques are generally expensive, energy-intensive, and environmentally harmful. Recently, biostabilization has emerged as a sustainable alternative that can overcome some of the limitations of existing soil improvement methods. Enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) is a particularly promising technique due to its ease of application and compatibility with different soil types. EICP exploits the urease enzyme as a catalyst to promote the hydrolysis of urea inside the pore water, which, in the presence of calcium ions, results in the precipitation of calcium carbonate. The purpose of this paper is to provide a state-of-the-art review of EICP stabilization, highlighting the potential application of this technique to field problems and identifying current research gaps. The paper discusses recent progress, focusing on the most important factors that govern the efficiency of the chemical reactions and the precipitation of a spatially homogenous carbonate phase. The paper also discusses other aspects of EICP stabilization, including the degree of ground improvement, the prediction of the pore structure of the treated soil by numerical simulations, and the remediation of potentially toxic EICP by-products.