KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering (2017) 21(7):2596-2606 Geotechnical Engineering

Copyright ⓒ2017 Korean Society of Civil Engineers

DOI 10.1007/s12205-017-0068-1 pISSN 1226-7988, eISSN 1976-3808
www.springer.com/12205
TECHNICAL NOTE

Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation

of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry
Nan Zhang*, Wei Zhu**, Hongtao He***, and Yiyan Lv****
Received April 22, 2015/Revised January 6, 2016/Accepted December 27, 2016/Published Online March 22, 2017

··································································································································································································································

Abstract
Sedimentation and consolidation of dredged slurry is very complex in practice. A new Multilayer Extraction Sampling (MES)
method was developed in this study to better understand the underlying law of sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in
slurries. Comparing with previous methods, the advantages of this method include: (1) the equipment is easy to operate and the test
procedures are simple; (2) the volume distribution and the settling velocity of soil particles can be measured and calculated by
Volume Flux Function (VFF) approach at different time and heights during sedimentation and consolidation process; (3) soil
formation from sedimentation of dredged slurry can be also further studied based on pore water pressure measurements in
conjunction with the velocity and density distributions. The experimental results revealed that there were four different zones during
sedimentation and consolidation process: water zone, hindered settling zone, consolidation zone and a new zone termed as “transition
zone” where soil particles are in contact with each other but effective stress are not fully developed. It is concluded that the
sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in dredged slurry was studied successfully in a holistic manner using this new
experimental method.
Keywords: sedimentation, consolidation, soil particles, dredged slurry
··································································································································································································································

1. Introduction better solve such issues, studying the settling behavior of soil
particles in dredged slurry in sedimentation stage is more
Many environmental and ecological problems are caused by a important than implementing ground improvement in consolidation
large amount of sediments existing in rivers, lakes, waterways stage, because settling characteristics of soil particles determine
and reservoirs, resulting in implementation of various dredging the physical and mechanical properties of sediments such as
projects. Dredged slurry has the characteristics of extremely high density, water content and contacting force among soil particles.
water content and very low compressive and shear strength, so it Consequently, a deep understanding of sedimentation and
cannot be easily reused as normal engineering soils. The most consolidation of soil particles in dredged slurry is not only
common way to treat this kind of material is to deposit it into a significant to the design of storage yard, but also has many
storage yard. Then, soil particles in dredged slurry will settle implications for engineering dredging projects.
downward to form sediments, and the sediments will consolidate Several studies on sedimentation and consolidation of dredged
under its self-weight during sedimentation and consolidation slurries or clay suspensions had been reported in previous
process. Afterward, the sediments are treated either by stack published literature (Kynch, 1952; Richardson and Zaki, 1954;
preloading or vacuum and preloading methods for future Michaels and Bolger, 1962; McRoberts and Nixon, 1976; Been,
reclamation. However, the traditional treatment methods have 1980, 1981; Imai, 1980, 1981; Pane, 1985; Znidarcic et al., 1986;
several disadvantages. Firstly, the land price is becoming higher Tan et al., 1990; Allain et al., 1995; Chu et al., 2002; Merckelbach
and higher, and the space is so limited for constructing a storage and Kranenburg, 2004; He, 2010; He et al., 2011; Wang et al.,
yard especially in some coastal cities in China. Secondly, it 2013; Zhang et al., 2013). It is well known that dredged slurry
usually takes a long time to finish sedimentation and consolidation behaves like fluid, and there is no effective stress among soil
process for soil particles in dredged slurry. More importantly, particles. During sedimentation process, soil particles settle
secondary pollution from tail water may also cause some other downward until some particles are in contact with each other
serious environmental problems during the process. In order to generating effective stress in sediments. As time elapses, initial

*Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington 76019, Texas, USA (Corresponding Author, E-mail:
[email protected])
**Professor, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China (E-mail: [email protected])
***Geotechnical Engineer, CCCC-FHDI Engineering Co., Ltd, Guangzhou 510230, China (E-mail: [email protected])
****Research Assistant, Geotechnical Research Institute, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China (E-mail: [email protected])

− 2596 −
 Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry

soil structure is being formed gradually and starts working to pore water pressure and particle size measurements is the main
support soil skeleton. In the meantime, the sediment turns into limitation for wider application. Also, Amy et al. (2006) used
soil, and consolidation takes place which is governed by a large freezing method to study the sorting characteristics of sand-mud
strain self-weight consolidation theory (Gibson et al., 1967; suspensions by photographing the frozen core in settling tube
Gibson et al., 1981; Monte and Krizek, 1976; Toorman, 1996). experiments, but this method consumed much more time than
Although sedimentation and consolidation are usually considered as other methods on freezing and cutting the samples.
two separate processes, they are interconnected and can be analyzed The objective of this research is to utilize a new experimental
simultaneously. Some researchers (Been and Sills, 1981; Sills Method-multilayer Extraction Sampling (MES) to better study
and Elder, 1984; Pane and Schiffman, 1985; Shodja and Feldkamp, sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in dredged
1993; Eckert et al., 1996; Bürger and Karlsen, 2001; Jeeravipoolvarn slurry. A series of large scale sedimentation column tests were
et al., 2009) proposed a concept of “transition zone” which is first performed in laboratory. The distributions of water content
located in between sedimentation zone and consolidation zone to and density were measured by the MES method. The volume
integrate above two zones into one in the modelling. For distribution of soil particles were then obtained as well. The
example, Jeeravipoolvar (2009) used an interaction coefficient average velocity of soil particles during different sampling time
(β) proposed by Pane and Schiffman (1985) to combine the intervals were calculated at different heights by Volumetric Flux
sedimentation theory with the consolidation theory. However, Function (VFF) approach. Then, the test results were analyzed
the existence of this zone is still questionable and needs to be and discussed in conjunction with the measurements of pore
further demonstrated. . water pressure to validate the feasibility and reliability of the
In terms of experimental method to study sedimentation and proposed method.
consolidation of dredged slurries, sedimentation columns are
most commonly used in previous studies. Table 1 shows several 2. Multilayer Extraction Sampling (MES) Method
typical experimental methods on study of sedimentation and
consolidation. Nuclear techniques had been widely used to study 2.1 Experimental Setup
sediment transport and sedimentation problems (Crickmore et Based on the previous experimental methods (Imai, 1981;
al., 1990; Berlamont et al., 1993). For example, Been (1981) and Been, 1981; Merckelbach, 2000; Alexis et al., 2004; Liu et al.,
Alexis et al. (2004) used X-ray or γ-ray nuclear densimeter to 2004), sedimentation column combined with the MES method
scan sedimentation column horizontally at different times to was adopted in this research to study the sedimentation and
obtain the distributions of density and water content. The merit consolidation of soil particles in dredged slurry. According to the
of this method is that the measured results are continuous with experimental experience from Elder (1985), the size effect on
sedimentation height without any disturbance induced by sedimentation and consolidation of dredged slurry cannot be
experimental apparatus. But there are also some disadvantages neglected if the inner diameter of sedimentation column is less
such as the complicated operating procedures of nuclear densimeter
and harm to human body caused by the high level nuclear radioactive
materials. Merckelbach (2000) adopted layered sedimentation
column to investigate the compressive and shear strength of
sediments during certain time intervals. Imai (1981) used multilayer
shear extraction sampling method to study the sedimentation and
consolidation process. Both density and particle size of dredged
slurries were measured layer by layer. However, the complexity
of the experimental apparatus in Merckelbach (2000) and Imai’s
(1981) studies may cause disturbance during sampling process
and affect the accuracy of measured results. Liu et al. (2004)
considered the dredged slurry as a whole soil body to study
sedimentation and consolidation process. But the lack of density, Fig. 1. Schematic of Experimental Setup (unit: cm)

Table 1. Several Typical Experimental Methods on Study of Sedimentation and Consolidation

Initial conditions Sedimentation column
Density Pore water pressure
Author Initial density Height Longest period Diameter × Height distributions distributions
(g/cm3) (m) (day) (m × m)
Been (1981) 1.02-1.22 0.64-1.93 100 0.10 × 2.00 X-ray
Pore water pressure
Alexis et al. (2004) 1.07 1.50 32 0.09 × 1.75 γ-ray
sensor + transformer
Merckelbach(2000) 1.07-1.13 0.35-1.54 95 0.10 × 0.40 γ-ray
Imai (1981) 1.03-1.08 0.21-2.00 3 0.05 × 0.25, 0.2 × 0.25 Shear extraction
Liu et al. (2004) 1.04-1.25 90

Vol. 21, No. 7 / November 2017 − 2597 −

 Nan Zhang, Wei Zhu, Hongtao He, and Yiyan Lv

than 0.1 m. Therefore, the inner diameter of sedimentation

column in this study is designed as 0.1 m. The column is made of
transparent organic glass with height of 0.8 m and wall thickness
of 0.01 m. The experimental setup (shown in Fig. 1) consists of a
sedimentation column, an extracting device (sucker), a vacuum
bucket (beaker) and a vacuum pump, nine pore water pressure
sensors (nine porous stones) and a data acquisition system.
Fig. 2. Schematic of one Single Slurry Layer During Extraction
As shown in Fig. 1, pore water pressure in dredged slurry is Process
measured by nine pore water pressure sensors (CYG715,
Nanjing Soil Instrument Factory Co., Ltd) which are located at
different heights with the same vertical spacing of 9.5 cm. There 2.2 Correction for Water Content Measurements
are five sensors installed on the left side and four installed on the The settling velocity of water-slurry interface of dredged slurry
right side of the sedimentation column. A small porous stone is with high water content is usually between 0.05 and 0.1 cm/min
attached to each sensor to filter soil particles for accurate pore (Imai, 1980, 1981; He et al., 2010, 2011; Xu et al., 2012; Zhang
water pressure measurements. All pore water pressure sensors et al., 2013) which is much less than the extracting rate (i.e. 3
are connected to the data acquisition system. Output signal is cm/min) used in this study, but the effect of settlement of water-
differential pressure type signal from 0 to 5 V, while the slurry interface itself on measured water content of each slurry
corresponding pore water pressure ranges from 0 to 35 kPa. The layer is still less understood. The schematic of one single slurry
sensor calibration was completed by measuring hydrostatic layer during extraction process is shown in Fig. 2, v is the settling
pressure of tap water at different heights in the same sedimentation velocity of water-slurry interface, cm/min; Δt is the sampling
column (He et al., 2011). The measurement accuracy of the time for each layer, min; Δz is the height of each layer, cm. The
sensor can reach 0.01 kPa. actual water content w is expressed as follows,
Moreover, the MES method can measure both water content
Se Sn n
and density of dredged slurry, as well as the distributions of w= = = (1)
Gs (1 − n)Gs (1 − n)Gs
volume and settling velocity of soil particles. The test procedures
are described as follows: where S is the degree of saturation, (i.e. S = 1.0); n is the porosity
1. At each extraction sampling time, the sucker is placed on top of slurry layer; Gs is the specific gravity of soil particles.
surface of dredged slurry; while the tube at the other end of In Fig. 2, the measured water content w' is given below,
the extracting device is plugged into the top cap of the vac-
vΔt ρw + (Δz − vΔt )nρ w vΔt n
uum bucket and placed into the beaker; w' = = + (2)
(Δz − vΔt )(1 − n) ρ s (Δz − vΔt )(1 − n)Gs (1 − n)Gs
2. The valve is then closed, and the air in the vacuum bucket is
pumped out using the pump to produce a vacuum environ- where ρw is the density of water, g/cm3; ρs is the density of soil
ment with air pressure of -1.0 bar; particles, g/cm3.
3. After the air pressure of -1.0 bar remains constant from the Substituting Eq. (1) into Eq. (2),
gauge, the valve is opened, and sucker is pushed downward
vΔt
slowly at a constant rate of 3 cm/min. The first layer of w' = +w (3)
(Δz − vΔt )(1 − n)Gs
slurry with height of 3 cm is extracted into the beaker after 1
min; And the extracting velocity for one single layer is,
4. The sucker is uplifted to lose contact with slurry, and the
v ' = Δz / Δt = 3cm / min (4)
pump is also turned off to release the pressure;
5. The top cap of the bucket is opened, the beaker along with Substituting Eq. (4) into Eq. (3),
the extracted slurry is then taken out, and a new beaker is
w ' v '/ v + (1 / w)(1 / Gs )
again placed at the same location in the bucket; = (5)
w v '/ v − 1
6. The procedures 1-5 are repeated for the extraction of sec-
ond and other slurry layers from top to bottom until the Based on the extracting rate (i.e. 3 cm/min) used in this study and
slurry are completely extracted out of the sedimentation the assumed settling velocity of water-slurry interface of dredged
column; slurry (i.e. 0.05-0.1 cm/min), the relationship between w'/w and w by
Oven-drying method is adopted to measure the water content Eq. (5) for different v'/v ratios is shown in Fig. 3. It is observed that w'/
of each layer, the dry density is then calculated as well; Malvern w was increasing with decreasing v'/v, and it was very close to 1.0
MasterSizer 2000 particle size analyzer is also used to obtain the when v'/v exceeded 30. Another characteristic is that w'/w almost
particle size distribution of slurry layer. remained constant when w is greater than 300%. In addition, v can be
The correction for water content measurements, the determination obtained from the slope of sedimentation curve, and it is supposed to
of distributions of volume and settling velocity of soil particles be constant during sedimentation process. Consequently, the
are presented in the following sections. measurement of water content can be corrected by Eq. (5).

− 2598 − KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry

Fig. 4. Schematic of Calculation Model

Fig. 3. The Effect of v’/v and w on Measured Water Content

particles during time interval Δt, m/s; A is the cross section area of
2.3 Determination of Velocity of Soil Particles sedimentation column, i.e. 78.5 cm2 (A = πd2/4); N is the layer
Since the dredged slurry is fully saturated, the void ratio of number (i.e. i = 1, 2, 3…); n is the number of layers water-slurry
slurry is expressed as, interface settles down; φ is the average volumetric concentration of
slurry, %. The calculation procedures are described as follows:
e = wGs (6)
At t = tj and t = tj + Δt, the total volume (Vs) and volumetric
The volume of soil particles in each layer and the volumetric concentration (φ) of soil particles in each layer are calculated by
concentration are expressed as, Eq. (7) and (8) based on the measured water content; the average
volumetric concentration ( φ ) of each layer during the period of
e wGs
Vs = Vt (1 − n) = Vt (1 − ) = Vt (1 − ) (7) Δt is also obtained accordingly;
1+ e 1 + wGs
The number of layers (n) that the water-slurry interface settles
wGs down is observed and approximated during the period of Δt (e.g.
φ = 1− n = 1− (8) n = 3 from t0 to t1; and n = 2 from t1 to t2 as shown in Fig. 4);
1 + wGs
In order to determine the average velocity of soil particles at a
where Vs is the volume of soil particles; Vt is the total volume of specific height (or the corresponding layer number N = i) at t =
one single layer, Vt = 1/4πd2h = 235.5 cm3 (d is the dimeter of the tj+Δt during the period of Δt, the summation of volume of soil
column, i.e. 0.1 m; h is the height of each extracted slurry layer, particles in each layer above N = i (total number of layer is i + n)
i.e. 3 cm). at t = tj was first calculated;
The density of slurry at each sampling time is calculated by the Similarly, the summation of volume of soil particles in each
following equation, layer above N = i at t = tj+Δt was then calculated;
Gs (1 + w) The volumetric flux of soil particles passing through the layer
ρ= ρw (9) N = i at t = tj+Δt during the period of Δt was computed by Eq.
1 + wGs
(10);
The velocity of soil particles is calculated by Volumetric Flux The average velocity of soil particles at N = i at t = tj+Δt during
Function (VFF) approach as the schematic of calculation model the period of Δt was then calculated by Eq. (11) based on A and φ ;
shown in Fig. 4. The formulas are given below: Based on the above procedures, the average velocity of soil
particles at any heights during other time intervals can be also
⎡ i +n i
⎤
f ( Ni , Δt ) = ⎢ ∑Vs ( N m , t j − Δ t ) − ∑Vs ( N m , t j )⎥ / Δ t (10) calculated.
⎣ m=1 m=1 ⎦

f ( N , Δt ) = v( N , Δ t ) × A × φ (11) 3. Materials and Methods

i i

where f is the volumetric flux function, m3/s; Vs is the volume of 3.1 Materials
soil particles in one single layer, m3; v is the average velocity of soil Dredged slurry used in the experiments was taken from Taihu

Table 2. Physical Properties of Dredged Slurry

Specific gravity Liquid limit w Plastic limit w Clay fraction Organic matter fraction
Materials L P

G s (%) (%) (%) (%)

Dredged slurry (Taihu Lake) 2.65 61 25 18 0.87

Vol. 21, No. 7 / November 2017 − 2599 −

 Nan Zhang, Wei Zhu, Hongtao He, and Yiyan Lv

group settling velocity of soil particles can be calculated for

above certain size group using corresponding volume of soil
particles in the group, or the overall settling velocity can be
calculated using total volume of soil particles.

4. Experimental Results

4.1 Measurements of Water Content and Density

The measured settling velocity of water-slurry interface was
0.053 cm/min which was obtained from the slope of sedimentation
curve as shown in Fig. 11. Thus, it is obvious that the effect of
extracting rate on measured water content is quite small as
shown in Fig. 3 since v’/v=3/0.053=56.60 which is greater than
Fig. 5. Particle Size Distribution of Dredged Slurry
30. According to Eq. (6), the actual water content of each slurry
layer was corrected by the following equation,
Lake in China. The physical properties of the slurry are shown in
w = 0.982 w '− 6.67 × 10 −3 (12)
Table 2. The liquid limit was measured by Casagrande Method
(BS1377: Part 2: 1990: 4.3) and the plastic limit was tested on Figure 6(a) shows the distributions of water content at different
the same sample (BS1377: Part 2: 1990: 5.3). The clay fraction sampling times. Point A represented the location of water-slurry
in dredge slurry was measured by Malvern MasterSizer 2000 interface; while point B was an inflection point representing the
particle size analyzer. It is found that the dredged slurry has a location where the water content suddenly decreased. Fig. 6(b)
relatively high liquid limit because of the high clay fraction of shows the distributions of density obtained by Eq. (9) based on
18%. Particle size distribution of the slurry is shown in Fig. 5. the measured water content. Point A' also represented water-
slurry interface which has the same physical meaning as point A;
3.2 Test Methods while Point B' was another inflection point representing the
In order to avoid any effects from multilayer extraction sampling location where the density increased during sedimentation and
process on measured pore water pressure, the experiment was
first performed 24 h for pore water pressure measurements and
then repeated using the MES method. Since most of the dredged
slurry encountered in practice has very high water content, initial
water content of the dredged slurry in the experiment was
prepared at 1100% which is about 18 times greater than its liquid
limit. For sample preparation, power propeller was used to stir
the slurry for 20 min to suspend sediment in order to obtain the
uniformly distributed water content. Then, the slurry was poured
into the sedimentation column with initial height of 0.76 m to
measure the pore water pressure for 24 h.
Four same sedimentation columns were prepared for four
extraction sampling time at 1, 4, 7 and 13.5 h. The dredged slurry
was prepared in the same way and poured into the four columns
at the same time with the same initial height of 0.76 m. Then, the
dredged slurry was extracted layer by layer into the beaker at
each sampling time according to the test procedures of MES
method. Each extracted slurry layer was separated in half: one
half was transfer into the oven to measure the water content, and
the total volume of soil particles was also calculated by Eq. (7);
another half was used to obtain particle size distribution curve by
the Malvern MasterSizer 2000 particle size analyzer, and the
volume of soil particles in different particle size group can be
obtained as well.
In this study, the whole range of soil particle size will be
simply divided into five different size groups: 0-5 um, 5-30 um,
30-75 µm, 75-200 µm and >200 µm. According to the calculation Fig. 6. (a) Distributions of Water Content, (b) Distributions of Den-
procedures of velocity of soil particles, it should be noted that the sity

− 2600 − KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry

Fig. 7. Distributions of Volume of Soil Particles: (a) Total Volume, (b)-(f) Volume Fractions of Different Size Groups

consolidation process. 4.3 Measurement of Velocity of Soil Particles

According to Eq. (10) and (11), the settling velocities of soil
4.2 Measurement of Volume of Soil Particles particles of five particle size groups during four time intervals
According to Eq. (7), total volume of soil particles in each (i.e. 0-1 h; 1-4 h; 4-7 h and 7-13.5 h) were calculated and plotted
slurry layer was calculated and plotted against sedimentation in Fig. 8. Point A'' represented the location of water-slurry
height as shown in Fig. 7(a). The volume fractions of soil interface; while the velocity inflection points were denoted by
particles of each particle size group are shown in Figs. 7(b)-(f). point B'' and C. It is indicated that there were three different
In Fig. 7(a), it is indicated that the total volume of soil particles stages appearing along sedimentation height during sedimentation
was less than its initial value in the upper zone during the and consolidation process. In the first stage, the velocity
sedimentation process. It is attributed to the sorting characteristics of increased downward above inflection point B'' and decreased
soil particles with different particle sizes based on the fact that rapidly below it at 0-1 h. The velocity also increased with an
coarse particles settle downward with higher settling velocities increase in soil particle size, which also conforms to the Stokes’
than other fine particles. Moreover, soil particles are continuously law (Stokes, 1851). In the beginning of experiments, soil particles
accumulated in the lower zone, which leads to a larger total started settling downward under gravitational force. Once they
volume than its initial value in this zone. In Figs. 7(b)-(f), sorting settled down to a slurry-sediment interface, they were in contact
characteristics was also clearly observed from different shapes of with each other, and their velocities were decreased suddenly.
curves of five particle size groups. In Fig. 7(b), the volume fraction The second stage appeared at 1-4 and 4-7 h. The velocities of soil
of soil particles in the range of 0-5 µm was much greater than its particles of each size group were almost constant above inflection
initial value in the upper zone, and it was less than that only in point B'', but decreased gradually below it. It should be
several layers at bottom because of the relatively low settling highlighted that another velocity inflection point C was observed
velocity. However, the opposite trend was found for particles in below point B'' in this stage. The constant velocities between
the range of 30-75 µm as shown in Fig. 7(d). Furthermore, the point A'' and point B'' in this stage can be explained by the fact
volume fraction was not changing significantly along sedimentation that all the forces acting on the soil particles such as gravity,
height for particles in the range of 5-30 µm due to the medium buoyance, disturbance from neighboring soil particles and
settling velocity as shown in Fig. 7(c). In Figs. 7(e) and (f), the upward water flow impact were under equilibrium. In the last
volume fractions almost remained constant because of the stage of 7-13.5 h, the velocities of soil particles became very
relatively low initial volume fraction for soil particles with low; point A'' and B'' were overlapped completely; but the point
diameter greater than 75 µm. C was still very clear to be captured beneath point A'' and B''.

Vol. 21, No. 7 / November 2017 − 2601 −

 Nan Zhang, Wei Zhu, Hongtao He, and Yiyan Lv

Fig. 8. Distributions of Velocity of Soil Particles During Four Time Intervals: (a) 0-1h, (b) 1-4h, (c) 4-7h, (c) 7-13.5h

4.4 Measurement of Pore Water Pressure

According to the effective stress principle, the relationship
among total stress (σ), effective stress (σ') and pore water pressure
(u) is expressed as follows,
σ = σ '+ u = σ '+ uw + ue (13)
where σ is the total stress, kPa; σ' is the effective stress, kPa; u is
the pore water pressure, kPa; uw is the hydrostatic pressure, kPa;
ue is the excess pore water pressure, kPa. Fig. 9(a) shows the
distributions of excess pore water pressure at different sampling
times obtained by subtracting the hydrostatic pressure from the
measured pore water pressure. Theoretically, the initial excess
pore water pressure was distributed linearly denoted by the solid
straight line at t = 0 h in Fig. 9(a). It is found that the excess pore
water pressure was decreasing with the proceeding of sedimentation
and consolidation process. The dissipation of excess pore water
pressure at t = 13.5 h was around 70% of the initial value. The
distributions of total stress can be obtained from the density
distributions (shown in Fig. 6(b)), σ-uw (equals to σ'+ue) was then
calculated and depicted in Fig. 9(b). It is obvious that the downward
increment of σ'+ue had an inflection point at each sampling time.
Moreover, the location of this point was also changed with time.
Figure 10 shows the comparison of ue and σ'+ue at different
sampling times. An inflection point D appeared above which the
ue and σ'+ue were almost identical. The difference between them
below the point D was from the generation of effective stress Fig. 9. (a) Distributions of ue, (b) Distributions of σ'+ue

− 2602 − KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry

Fig. 10. Comparison between ue and σ’+ue at Different Sampling Times: (a) t=1h, (b) t=4h, (c) t=7h, (d) t=13.5h

inflection points A, A', A'' moved downward. It is also found that

these six points converged at 13.5 h. Moreover, velocity
inflection curve (C) agreed with inflection curve (D) reasonably
well beneath the inflection point curves (B, B', B''). Both
inflection curves (C and D) were extended and converged to
points A, A', A'' at around 21 h as denoted by two dash lines in
Fig. 11. Since the effective stress was generated at point D as
discussed previously, the shadow area between inflection curves
(B, B', B'') and inflection curves (C and D) was probably neither
the hindered settling zone nor the consolidation zone during the
sedimentation and consolidation process.

Fig. 11. Sedimentation Curve and Inflection Point Curves 5. Discussion

denoted by the shadow area. It is indicated that soil was being 5.1 Measurement Error of MES Method
formed at point D below which the effective stress started The proposed MES method is capable of measuring distributions
working to support soil skeleton. Moreover, the height of point D of water content and density of slurry, as well as the volume and
increased with sampling time. settling velocity of soil particles, but the measurement accuracy
might be affected by the extraction technique itself. Theoretically,
4.5 Sedimentation Curve and Inflection Point Curves the effective stress of soil might be underestimated because of
Based on the inflection points observed in above test results, the rebound of soil particles during the extraction. It is also
the sedimentation curve and inflection point curves of the affected by several factors, such as the extracting rate, vacuum
dredged slurry are depicted in Fig. 11. It is indicated that water air pressure, etc. However, based on the test results shown in
content inflection curve (B), density inflection curve (B') and Figs. 10 and 11, the generation of effective stress was not directly
velocity inflection curve (B'') were almost completely overlapped. measured by the MES method, but determined by both the non-
The inflection points B, B', B'' moved upward, while the destructive technique for excess water pressure measurement

Vol. 21, No. 7 / November 2017 − 2603 −

 Nan Zhang, Wei Zhu, Hongtao He, and Yiyan Lv

suspensions has three different stages: flocculation stage,

sedimentation stage and consolidation stage. The schematic of
the mode is shown in Fig. 12(a). There are three stages during
sedimentation and consolidation process which can be distinguished
on the sedimentation curve. In the first stage, the movement of a
water-slurry interface is too small and all clay particles flocculate
in the entire water column. As a result, many flocs have been
formed at the end of this stage. Then, the sedimentation stage
begins and all the flocs start to settle downward. Moreover, a
clear water-slurry interface appears and moves downward with a
constant velocity, and it usually shows a linear mode in this
stage. In the meantime, sediments are being formed continuously
at the bottom of the sedimentation column. A slurry-sediment
interface appears below which the consolidation process is
possible to occur. In consolidation stage, the water-slurry interface
and the slurry-sediment interface converged to one interface (i.e.
a water-sediment interface). Sedimentation process of all flocs or
soil particles is finished, and all the sediments start to consolidate
under their own weight. It is indicated that the zone between the
water-slurry interface and the slurry-sediment interface is
denoted as “hindered settling zone”, and the zone below the
slurry-sediment interface is denoted as “consolidation zone”.
Comparing with Imai’s (1980, 1981) study in conjunction with
the distributions of water content, density and velocities of soil
particles obtained in this study, a new sedimentation and
consolidation mode is proposed as shown in Fig. 12(b).
Theoretically, velocity of soil particles and water content are
Fig. 12. Schematic of Sedimentation and Consolidation Mode: decreased; while density is increased dramatically at the moment
(a) Imai (1980), (b) This Study
when soil particles settle down to the slurry-sediment interface.
Therefore, point B, B' and B'' is supposed to be located at the
and the MES method for total stress measurement obtained from slurry-sediment interface, and the hindered settling zone is
the measured density. Hence, the measurement error of effective located between point A, A', A'' and point B, B', B''. According to
stress can be minimized as long as the extracting rate and effective stress principle, slurry turns into soil once effective
vacuum air pressure are reasonably controlled to ensure the stress generates among soil particles. Thus, the soil is formed
accuracy of measured density of dredged slurry. below point D (or C) in the consolidation zone. In Fig. 12(b) it is
obvious that there is a new zone existing between the hindered
5.2 Sedimentation and Consolidation Mode settling zone and the consolidation zone, which is termed as
Imai (1980, 1981) proposed that the settling behavior of clay “transition zone” in this study. The sedimentation and consolidation

Fig. 13. Schematic of Distributions of Velocity and Pore Water Pressure

− 2604 − KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Experimental Study on Sedimentation and Consolidation of Soil Particles in Dredged Slurry

process with the transition zone is discussed in the following ground improvement. In this paper, a new experimental method-
section. Multilayer Extraction Sampling (MES) was developed to better
study the sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in
5.3 Sedimentation and Consolidation Process dredged slurry. The distributions of water content and density
Figure 13 shows the schematic of distributions of velocity and were first obtained, the average velocity of soil particles were
pore water pressure during sedimentation and consolidation then calculated by the Volumetric Flux Function (VFF) approach
process. This process is described as follows: fine soil particles based on the volume distributions of soil particles. In conjunction
flocculate in the beginning of sedimentation, and some single with pore water pressure measurements and density distributions,
flocs or flocs clusters are formed with voids space inside. It the location where effective stress generates was also determined
should be noted that some interior forces still exist such as experimentally. A new zone termed as “transition zone” was
electrical force and van der Waals Force (Mitchell, 1976) even found between the hindered settling zone and the consolidation
though they are quite small. Then, the soil particles settle downward zone. Soil particles are found to be in contact with each other in
at a constant rate due to the force equilibrium among gravity, the zone where effective stress is not fully developed.
buoyancy, disturbance from neighboring soil particles and The MES method showed satisfactory experimental results
upward water flow impact, resulting in appearance of a sharp even though it cannot provide continuous profile of water
water-slurry interface (A, A', A'') in this process. The magnitude content and density along sedimentation height compared with
of this constant settling rate is dependent on the initial water X-ray or γ-ray nuclear densimeter. The advantage of this method
content and local slurry concentration in hindered settling zone is that the distributions of volume and velocity of soil particles in
where the total stress equals to the pore water pressure with no different soil particle size groups can be measured and calculated
effective stress generated. Once the soil particles reach the at any time and heights during sedimentation and consolidation
slurry-sediment interface (B, B', B''), the settling velocity of soil process. More importantly, the experimental setup is easy to
particles decreases suddenly because they are in contact with operate, and test period is relatively short. The proposed MES
each other at this interface. As more soil particles or flocs method is a more reliable and accurate experimental method to
aggregating to form larger flocs or flocs clusters, more total study the sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in
stress will be applied to the sediment beneath this interface. dredged slurry. However, the measurement error induced by the
However, a single floc can resist some external forces, which has extraction technique needs to be further studied in the future. In
been approbated by Xu et al. (2012). Thus, the preliminary addition, laboratory experiments on other dredged slurries need
compression among these flocs only leads to a reduction of to be conducted to further validate the repeatability, reliability
volume of the inside voids, but not the generation of effective and applicability of the method.
stress among soil particles. It happens in the transition zone as
shown in Fig. 13. As total stress increases, more voids even some Acknowledgements
closed voids will be compressed. Once the total stress exceeds
the yield force of a single floc, most voids are occupied by soil The work reported was supported by The Special Project on
particles, and effective stress begins to work among soil particles Public Welfare of Ministry of Water Resources: Study on Treatment
at point D or C. Initial soil structure is also being formed at this and Utilization of River and Lake Sediments (Grant No: 201201015).
moment (Kynch, 1952; Been, 1980). The reduction of velocity
of soil particles in transition zone is significant, which can be References
seen in Fig. 8. Furthermore, there is another feature that soil
particles are consolidating under their self-weight in the consolidation Alexis, A., Le bras, G., and Thomas, P. (2004). “Experimental bench
zone; water is being drained out upward through some water study of settling-consolidation soil formation.” Geotechnical Testing
paths, which will impede the settling or compressing behavior of Journal, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 557-567, DOI: 10.1520/GTJ11582.
Allain, C., Cloitre, M. and WafraM. (1995). “Aggregation and sedimentation
flocs or soil particles in the transition zone. In the consolidation
in colloidal suspensions.” Physical Review Letters, Vol. 74, pp.
zone, the velocity of soil particles is related to the rate of pore 1478-1481, DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.1478.
water pressure dissipation determined by the Gibson’s (1967) Amy, L. A., Talling, P. J., Edmonds, V. O., Sumner, E. J., and Lesueur,
one-dimensional large strain consolidation theory, and it becomes A. (2006). “An experimental investigation of sand–mud suspension
extremely low. As time elapses, the hindered settling zone and settling behaviour: Implications for bimodal mud contents of submarine
the transition zone disappear eventually. There are only water flow deposits.” Sedimentology, Vol. 53, pp. 1411-1434, DOI: 10.1111/
zone and consolidation zone left in consolidation stage. j.1365-3091.2006.00815.x.
Been, K. (1980). Stress strain behavior of a cohesive soil deposited
underwater, PhD. Thesis. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
6. Conclusions Been, K. and Sills, G. C. (1981). “Self-weight consolidation of soft soils:
An experimental and theoretical study.” Geotechnique, Vol. 31,
Study on the sedimentation and consolidation of dredged No. 4, pp. 519-535, DOI: 10.1680/geot.1981.31.4.519.
slurry is a traditional research topic in geotechnical community, Berlamont, J., Ockenden, M., Toorman, E., and Winterwerp, J. (1993).
but very important to the design of storage yard and subsequent “The characterization of cohesive sediment properties.” Coastal

Vol. 21, No. 7 / November 2017 − 2605 −

 Nan Zhang, Wei Zhu, Hongtao He, and Yiyan Lv

Engineering, Vol. 21, pp. 105-128, DOI: 10.1016/0378-3839(93) Michaels, A. S. and Bolger, J. C. (1962). “Settling rates and sediment
90047-C. volumes of flocculated kaolin suspensions.” Industrial & Engineering
Bürger, R. and Karlsen, K. H. (2001). “On some upwind schemes for Chemistry Fundamentals, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 24-33, DOI: 10.1021/
the phenomenological sedimentation-consolidation model.” Journal i160001a004.
of Engineering Mathematics, Vol. 41, pp. 145-166, DOI: 10.1023/ Mitchell, J. K. (1976). Fundamentals of Soil Behavior, John Wiley and
A:1011935232049. Sons, New York, N.Y.
Chu, C. P., Ju, S. P., Lee, D. J., and Mohanty, K. K. (2002). “Batch Monte, J. L. and Krizek, R. J. (1976). “One-dimensional mathematical
gravitational sedimentation of slurries.” Journal of Colloid and Interface model for large-strain consolidation.” Geotechnique, Vol. 26, No. 3,
Science, Vol. 245, No. 2, pp. 178-186, DOI: 10.1006/jcis.2001.7938. pp. 495-510, DOI: 10.1680/geot.1976.26.3.495.
Crickmore, M. J., Tazioli, G. S., Appleby, P. G., and Oldfield, F. (1990). Pane, V. (1985). Sedimentation and consolidation of clays, Ph.D.
The use of nuclear techniques in sediment transport and sedimentation Dissertation, Department of Civil Engineering, University of
problems, Technical Documents in Hydrology, Unesco, Paris. Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
Eckert, W. F., Masliyah, J. H., Gray, M. R., and Fedorak, P. M. (1996). Pane, V. and Schiffman, R. L. (1985). “A note on sedimentation and
“Prediction of sedimentation and consolidation of fine tails.” AIChE consolidation.” Geotechnique, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 69-72, DOI:
Journal, Vol. 42, pp. 960-972, DOI: 10.1002/aic.690420409. 10.1680/geot.1985.35.1.69.
Elder, D. M. (1985). Stress-strain and strength behaviour of very soft Richardson, J. F. and Zaki, W. N. (1954). “Sedimentation and fluidization:
soil sediment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Part I.” Transactions of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, Vol.
Gibson, R. E., England, G. L., and Hussy, M. J. L. (1967). “The theory 32, pp. 35-53.
of one-dimensional consolidation of saturated clays.” Geotechnique, Shodja, H. M. and Feldkamp, J. R. (1993). “Numerical analysis of
Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 261-273, DOI: 10.1680/geot.1967.17.3.261. sedimentation and consolidation by the moving finite element method.”
Gibson, R. E., Schiffman, R. L., and Cargill, K. W. (1981). “The theory International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in
of one-dimensional consolidation of saturated clays II Finite non- Geomechanics, Vol. 17, pp. 753-769, DOI: 10.1002/nag.1610171102.
linear consolidation of thick homogeneous layers.” Canadian Sills, G. C. and Elder, D. McG. (1986). “The transition from sediment
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 280-293, DOI: 10.1139/ suspension to settling bed.” A.J. Mehta (Ed.), Estuarine Cohesive
t81-030. Sediment Dynamics, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 192-205, DOI:
He, H. T. (2010). The experimental study on the process of transformation 10.1029/LN014p0192.
from sediments to soil, Master. Thesis. Hohai University, Nanjing, Stokes, G. G. (1851). “On the effect of the internet friction of fluids
China. on the motion of pendulums.” Transactions of the Cambridge
He, H. T., Zhu, W, Zhang C. L., and Wang, L. (2011). “Multilayer extraction Philosophical Society, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 89-106, DOI: 10.1017/
sampling method in the application research in the process of CBO9780511702266.002.
sedimentation.” Rock and Soil Mechanics, Vol. 32, No. 8, pp. 2371- Tan, T. S., Yong, K. Y., Leong, E. C., and Lee, S. L. (1990). “Sedimentation
2378, DOI: 1000-7598(2011)08-2371-08. of clayed slurry.” Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, ASCE,
Imai, G. (1980). “Settling behavior of clay suspension.” Soils and Vol. 116, No. 6, pp. 885-898, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1990)
Foundations, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 61–77. 116:6(885).
Imai, G. (1981). “Experimental studies on sedimentation mechanism Toorman, E. A. (1996). “Sedimentation and self-weight consolidation:
and sediment formation of clay materials.” Soils and Foundations, General, unifying theory.” Geotechnique, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 103-
Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 7-20. 113, DOI: 10.1680/geot.1996.46.1.103.
Jeeravipoolvarn, S., Chalaturnyk, R. J., and Scott, J. D. (2009). “Sedimen- Wang, B. T., Guo, S. J., and Zhang, F. H. (2013). “Research on deposition
tation–consolidation modeling with an interaction coefficient.” and consolidation behaviour of cohesive sediment with settlement
Computers and Geotechnics, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 751-761, DOI: column experiment.” European Journal of Environmental and Civil
10.1016/j.compgeo.2008.12.007. Engineering, Vol. 17, No. S1, pp. 144-157, DOI: 10.1080/19648189.
Kynch, G. J. (1952). “A theory of sedimentation.” Transactions of the 2013.834591.
Faraday Society, Vol. 48, pp. 166-176, DOI: 10.1039/TF9524800166. Xu, G. Z., Gao, Y. F., Hong, Z. S., and Ding, J. W. (2012). “Sedimentation
Liu, Y., Xiao, S. F., and Wang, Q. (2004). “Research on indoor scale- behavior of four dredged slurries in China.” Marine Georesources &
down test of dredger fill.” Rock and Soil Mechanics, Vol. 25, No. 4, Geotechnology, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 143-156, DOI: 10.1080/1064119X.
pp. 518-521, DOI: 1000-7598-(2004)04-0518-05. 2011.602382.
McRoberts, E. C. and Nixon, J. F. (1976). “A theory of soil sedimentation.” Zhang, N., Zhu, W., Wang, L., Lv, Y. Y., and Zhou, X. Z. (2013). “Study
Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 294-310, DOI: of sedimentation and consolidation of soil particles in dredged
10.1139/t76-031. slurry.” Rock and Soil Mechanics, Vol. 34, No. 6, pp. 1681-1686,
Merckelbach, L. M. (2000). Consolidation and strength evolution of soft DOI: 1000-7598-(2013)06-1681-06.
mud layers, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherland. Znidarcic, D., Schiffman, R. L., Pane, V., Croce, P., Ko, H. Y., and
Merckelbach, L. M. and Kranenburg, C. (2004). “Determining effective Olsen, H. W. (1986). “The theory of one-dimensional consolidation
stress and permeability equations for soft mud from simple laboratory of saturated clays: Part V. Constant rate of deformation testing and
experiments.” Geotechnique, Vol. 54, No. 9, pp. 581-591, DOI: analysis.” Geotechnique, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 227-237.
10.1680/geot.2004.54.9.581.

− 2606 − KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering