Model Testing of Passive Site Stabilization: A New Grouting Technique

Passive site stabilization is a new technology proposed for non-disruptive mitigation of liquefaction risk at developed sites susceptible to liquefaction. It is based on the concept of slow injection of stabilizing materials at the edge of a site and delivery of the stabilizer to the target location using the natural or augmented groundwater flow. In this research, a box model was used to investigate the ability to uniformly deliver colloidal silica stabilizer to loose sands using low-head injection wells. Five injection wells were used to deliver stabilizer in a fairly uniform pattern to the loose sand formation. The results will be used lo design centrifuge model tests in which the stabilizer will be delivered in-flight using a robot.