A T S Azhar

Acidic Barren Slope Profiling using Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) at Ayer Hitam area Johor, Malaysia

Recently, non-destructive method such as the electrical resistivity technique has become increasingly popular in engineering, environmental, mining and archeological studies nowadays. This method was popular in subsurface profiling due to its ability to replicate the images of the subsurface indirectly. The soil slope found in Batu Pahat, specifically in Ayer Hitam, is known to be problematic due to its barren condition. This location is believed to contain futile soil due to its difficulty in supporting the growth of vegetations. In the past, acidic barren slope assessment using non-destructive method was rarely being used due to several reasons related to the equipment and knowledge constraints. Hence, this study performed an electrical resistivity imaging using ABEM Terrameter LS in order to investigate the acidic barren slope conditions. Field data acquisition was based on Schlumberger and Wenner arrays while RES2DINV software was used to analyze and generate a 2-D model of the problematic subsurface profile. Based on electrical resistivity results, it was found that the acidic barren slope studied consists of two main zones representing residual soil (electrical resistivity value = 10 - 600 Ωm) and shale (electrical resistivity value = 20 - 2000 Ωm). The results of resistivity value were correlated with the physical mapping and the in situ mackintosh probe test for verification purposes. It was found that the maximum depth of the mackintosh probe test was 1.8 m due to its ground penetration limitation. However, the results of the resistivity section managed to achieve greater depth up to 40 m. Hence, the correlation between electrical resistivity and mackintosh probe results can only be performed at certain depth of the acidic barren slope profile in contrast with the physical mapping which able to define the whole section of the barren soil slope structure. Finally, a good match of electrical resistivity results calibrated with mackintosh and physical mapping data showed that this technique was appropriate to be applied in near-surface acidic barren slope assessment which can further compliment borehole data and other physical mapping data at a lower cost, higher speed, large data coverage and better environmental sustainability.

Soil Identification using Field Electrical Resistivity Method

Geotechnical site investigation with particular reference to soil identification was important in civil engineering works since it reports the soil condition in order to relate the design and construction of the proposed works. In the past, electrical resistivity method (ERM) has widely being used in soil characterization but experienced several black boxes which related to its results and interpretations. Hence, this study performed a field electrical resistivity method (ERM) using ABEM SAS (4000) at two different types of soils (Gravelly SAND and Silty SAND) in order to discover the behavior of electrical resistivity values (ERV) with type of soils studied. Soil basic physical properties was determine thru density (p), moisture content (w) and particle size distribution (d) in order to verify the ERV obtained from each type of soil investigated. It was found that the ERV of Gravelly SAND (278 Ωm & 285 Ωm) was slightly higher than SiltySAND (223 Ωm & 199 Ωm) due to the uncertainties nature of soils. This finding has showed that the results obtained from ERM need to be interpreted based on strong supported findings such as using direct test from soil laboratory data. Furthermore, this study was able to prove that the ERM can be established as an alternative tool in soil identification provided it was being verified thru other relevance information such as using geotechnical properties.

The behaviour of laboratory soil electrical resistivity value under basic soil properties influences

Electrical resistivity method (ERM) was a popular indirect geophysical tools adopted in engineering, environmental and archaeological studies. In the past, results of the electrical resistivity value (ERV) were always subjected to a long discussion and debate among the related parties such as an engineers, geophysicists and geologists due to its lack of clarification and evidences in quantitative point of view. Most of the results produced in the past was always been justified using qualitative ways which difficult to be accept by certain parties. In order to reduce the knowledge gap between those parties, this study has performed a laboratory experiment of soil box resistivity test which supported by an additional basic geotechnical test as referred to particle size distribution test (d), moisture content test (w), density test (ρbulk) and Atterberg limit test (LL, PL and PI). The test was performed to establish a series of electrical resistivity value with different quantity of water content for Clayey SILT and Silty SAND soil. It was found that the ERV of Silty SAND (600 - 7300 Ωm) was higher than Clayey SILT (13 - 7700 Ωm) due to the different quantity of basic soil properties value obtained from the basic geotechnical test. This study was successfully demonstrated that the fluctuation of ERV has greatly influenced by the variations of the soil physical properties (d, w, ρbulk, LL, PL and PI). Hence, the confidence level of ERV interpretation will be increasingly meaningful since it able to be proved by others parameter generated by laboratory direct test.

Compressive and Shear Wave Velocity Profiles using Seismic Refraction Technique

Seismic refraction measurement is one of the geophysics exploration techniques to determine soil profile. Meanwhile, the borehole technique is an established way to identify the changes of soil layer based on number of blows penetrating the soil. Both techniques are commonly adopted for subsurface investigation. The seismic refraction test is a non-destructive and relatively fast assessment compared to borehole technique. The soil velocities of compressive wave and shear wave derived from the seismic refraction measurements can be directly utilised to calculate soil parameters such as soil modulus and Poissons ratio. This study investigates the seismic refraction techniques to obtain compressive and shear wave velocity profile. Using the vertical and horizontal geophones as well as vertical and horizontal strike directions of the transient seismic source, the propagation of compressive wave and shear wave can be examined, respectively. The study was conducted at Sejagung Sri Medan. The seismic velocity profile was obtained at a depth of 20 m. The velocity of the shear wave is about half of the velocity of the compression wave. The soil profiles of compressive and shear wave velocities were verified using the borehole data and showed good agreement with the borehole data.

Electromigration of Contaminated Soil by Electro-Bioremediation Technique

Soil contamination with heavy metals poses major environmental and human health problems. This problem needs an efficient method and affordable technological solution such as electro-bioremediation technique. The electro-bioremediation technique used in this study is the combination of bacteria and electrokinetic process. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Pseudomonas putida bacteria as a biodegradation agent to remediate contaminated soil. 5 kg of kaolin soil was spiked with 5 g of zinc oxide. During this process, the anode reservoir was filled with Pseudomonas putida while the cathode was filled with distilled water for 5 days at 50 V of electrical gradient. The X-Ray Fluorescent (XRF) test indicated that there was a significant reduction of zinc concentration for the soil near the anode with 89% percentage removal. The bacteria count is high near the anode which is 1.3x107 cfu/gww whereas the bacteria count at the middle and near the cathode was 5.0x106 cfu/gww and 8.0x106 cfu/gww respectively. The migration of ions to the opposite charge of electrodes during the electrokinetic process resulted from the reduction of zinc. The results obtained proved that the electro-bioremediation reduced the level of contaminants in the soil sample. Thus, the electro-bioremediation technique has the potential to be used in the treatment of contaminated soil.

Shear Strength of Remoulding Clay Samples Using Different Methods of Moulding

Shear strength for clay soil was required to determine the soil stability. Clay was known as a soil with complex natural formations and very difficult to obtain undisturbed samples at the site. The aim of this paper was to determine the unconfined shear strength of remoulded clay on different methods in moulding samples which were proctor compaction, hand operated soil compacter and miniature mould methods. All the samples were remoulded with the same optimum moisture content (OMC) and density that were 18% and 1880 kg/m3 respectively. The unconfined shear strength results of remoulding clay soils for proctor compaction method was 289.56kPa with the strain 4.8%, hand operated method was 261.66kPa with the strain 4.4% and miniature mould method was 247.52kPa with the strain 3.9%. Based on the proctor compaction method, the reduction percentage of unconfined shear strength of remoulded clay soil of hand operated method was 9.66%, and for miniature mould method was 14.52%. Thus, because there was no significant difference of reduction percentage of unconfined shear strength between three different methods, so it can be concluded that remoulding clay by hand operated method and miniature mould method were accepted and suggested to perform remoulding clay samples by other future researcher. However for comparison, the hand operated method was more suitable to form remoulded clay sample in term of easiness, saving time and less energy for unconfined shear strength determination purposes.

Assessment and Comparison of Electrokinetic and Electrokinetic-bioremediation Techniques for Mercury Contaminated Soil

Landfills are major sources of contamination due to the presence of harmful bacteria and heavy metals. Electrokinetic-Bioremediation (Ek-Bio) is one of the techniques that can be conducted to remediate contaminated soil. Therefore, the most prominent bacteria from landfill soil will be isolated to determine their optimal conditions for culture and growth. The degradation rate and the effectiveness of selected local bacteria were used to reduce soil contamination. Hence, this enhances microbiological activities to degrade contaminants in soil and reduce the content of heavy metals. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of isolated bacteria (Lysinibacillus fusiformis) to remove mercury in landfill soil. 5 kg of landfill soil was mixed with deionized water to make it into slurry condition for the purpose of electrokinetic and bioremediation. This remediation technique was conducted for 7 days by using 50 V/m of electrical gradient and Lysinibacillus fusiformis bacteria was applied at the anode reservoir. The slurry landfill soil was located at the middle of the reservoir while distilled water was placed at the cathode of reservoir. After undergoing treatment for 7 days, the mercury analyzer showed that there was a significant reduction of approximately up to 78 % of mercury concentration for the landfill soil. From the results, it is proven that electrokinetic bioremediation technique is able to remove mercury within in a short period of time. Thus, a combination of Lysinibacillus fusiformis and electrokinetic technique has the potential to remove mercury from contaminated soil in Malaysia.

Novel Technique to improve the pH of Acidic Barren Soil using Electrokinetic-bioremediation with the application of Vetiver Grass

Residual acidic slopes which are not covered by vegetation greatly increases the risk of soil erosion. In addition, low soil pH can bring numerous problems such as Al and Fe toxicity, land degradation issues and some problems related to vegetation. In this research, a series of electrokinetic bioremediation (EK-Bio) treatments using Bacillus sphaericus, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas putida with a combination of Vetiver grass were performed in the laboratory. Investigations were conducted for 14 days and included the observation of changes in the soil pH and the mobilization of microorganism cells through an electrical gradient of 50 V/m under low pH. Based on the results obtained, this study has successfully proven that the pH of soil increases after going through electrokinetic bioremediation (EK-Bio). The treatment using Bacillus sphaericus increases the pH from 2.95 up to 4.80, followed by Bacillus subtilis with a value of 4.66. Based on the overall performance, Bacillus sphaericus show the highest number of bacterial cells in acidic soil with a value of 6.6 × 102 cfu/g, followed by Bacillus subtilis with a value of 5.7 × 102 cfu/g. In conclusion, Bacillus sphaericus and Bacillus subtilis show high survivability and is suitable to be used in the remediation of acidic soil.

Electrokinetic Stabilisation Method of Soft Clay in Pure System using Electrokinetic Geosynthetic Electrode

Electrokinetic stabilisation (EKS) method has the ability to solve the problems of soft highly compressibility soil. This study will present the results from an experimental study of EKS on soft soils using inactive kaolinite clay, inert electrode and distilled water (DW) as a pure system mechanism before any chemical stabilisers being used in this research. Therefore, this will provide a baseline study to improve the efficiency of EKS approach. The test model was using inert electrode of Electrokinetic Geosythentic (EKG) developed at the Newcastle University to apply a constant voltage gradient of 50 V/m across a soil sample approximately 400 mm. Distilled water was used at the pore electrolyte fluid compartments supplied under zero hydraulic gradient conditions for the periods of 3, 7 and 14 days. Throughout the monitoring, physical and chemical characteristics were measured. Results from the monitoring data, physical and chemical properties of the pure system showed the development of pH gradient, the changes of electrical conductivity and chemical concentrations with regards to the distance from anode and treatment periods due to the electrochemical effects even though there was no chemical stabilisers were introduced or released from the degradation of electrodes.

The evaluation of shear deformation for contact analysis with large displacement

A common problem encountered in the study of contact problem is the failure to obtain nstable and accurate convergence result when the contact node is close to the element edge, which nis referred as critical area. In previous studies, the modification of the element force equation nto apply it to a node-element contact problem using the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory [1]. A nsimple single-element consists two edges and a contact point was used to simulate contact nphenomenon of a plane frame. The modification was proven to be effective by the convergeability nof the unbalanced force at the tip of element edge, which enabled the contact node to npass-through, resulting in precise results. However, in another recent study, we discover that, nif shear deformation based on Timoshenko beam theory is taken into consideration, a basic nsimply supported beam coordinate afforded a much simpler and more efficient technique for navoiding the divergence of the unbalanced force in the critical area. Using our unique and nrobust Tangent Stiffness Method, the improved equation can be used to overcome any ngeometrically nonlinear analyses, including those involving extremely large displacements.