Effects of Chemical Solutions and Flexible Electric Geotextiles on Electroosmotic Consolidation of River Silt

Abstract

Compared with conventional soft clay ground treatment methods, electroosmosis has many advantages, such as a fast drainage rate and convenient equipment installation. However, its practical applications encounter restrictive factors, such as severe electrode corrosion and high energy consumption. As a flexible electric geotextile, carbon fiber cloth has good electrical conductivity and durability and excellent electrical contact performance with the soil. In this paper, carbon fiber cloth was used as the electrode material, and electroosmosis combined with the chemical grouting method was used in laboratory model tests. The electroosmotic characteristics and electrode-soil interface characteristics of carbon fiber cloth electrodes were discussed, and the influence of chemical grouting on these characteristics was considered. The results indicate that injection of CaCl₂ and Na₂SiO₃ solution reduced the soil resistance and electrode-soil contact resistance but reduced the electroosmotic drainage rate and increased the energy consumption coefficient. The electrode-soil contact resistance of the carbon fiber cloth electrode was less than that of the stainless steel electrode and had a higher efficiency of electric energy utilization when injected with chemical solution.