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7.8.

Excavation and placement of subsurface media in PRBs


7.8.1. Introduction In essence, constructing a PRB involves excavating the aquifer material and replacing it with the reactive fill. The main problem during construction is the stabilisation of trench walls. This section contains a brief description of construction methods. They are summarised in Table 7.2. Much more thorough descriptions are presented by Gavaskar et al. (1998). Table 7.2. Stabilization and construction methods for permeable reactive barriers (after Gavaskar et al., 1998)
Method WITH STABILIZATION - Sheet piles
- Wooden piles - Slurry - Caissons WITHOUT STABILIZATION - Conventional excavation - Continuous trenching - Injection (jetting) - In situ mixing

Type of material Best for non-cohesive materials Must not contain boulders

Comments

The most widely extended method Depth down to 40 m Must not contain gravel Do not prevent water inflow Shallow barriers (less than 6m) Should contain some fine material For permeability, slurry must be biodegradable. Must not contain boulders Indicated for funnel-and-gate systems. Best for cohesive materials Can be used for non-cohesive materials by lowering phreatic level Low resistance materials (can be Appropriate for very shallow barriers combined with ripper or pneumatic hammer) Side sheets make it appropriate for Depth up to 10 m loose material Big size pores Little experience Loose material without boulders Little experience

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7.8.2. Excavation with sheet piles Piles are used for protecting the trench during excavation and filling. The most conventional method consists of using steel sheet piles, but one could also use wooden piles. In essence, the method consists of: 1. Excavating the soil surface down to near the phreatic level so as to reduce the depth of the actual reactive trench. 2. Driving the sheet piles into the ground, usually with the help of a drop or a vibrating hammer, so that an enclosed area is created. 3. Excavating the interior of the enclosure. This is done with a backhoe down to depths of 10m or with a clamshell, which is more expensive but may reach down to 50m. Intermediate beams may be needed to retain the side walls. 4. Filling the enclosure with reactive material. Care must be paid to avoid segregation and for a uniform settling. In the case of granular fillings, such as iron, this can be done under water, possibly with the help of a pipe or sloping plane. However, in the case of mixtures, such as organic matter and gravel, the trench should be dewatered. 5. Extracting the sheet piles and covering the upper excavation. Extraction is also done with the aid of a vibrating hammer which is likely to cause some settling of the reactive filling. Therefore, one should have left some overfill material to compensate settling (a 5 to 10% settling is to be expected). Otherwise, one must be prepared to supply additional filling during the extraction of the sheet piles. This method is relatively simple because it is based on technologies that are widely available. Total excavation cost fluctuates around 60/m2, but increases with depth. The system works in most materials, but becomes extremely difficult if boulders are present. Wooden piles cannot be used in gravels or high hydraulic conductivity materials. 7.8.3. Excavation with a slurry head control This is similar to excavation with sheet piles, except that trench walls are stabilized by means of a slurry. Slurry head is kept above ground by building two small walls with a height of 0.2 0.5 m on the sides of the trench. This, together the fact that the slurry density is relatively high, creates a flux of slurry towards the aquifer and compensates the pressure of ground against the trench. Slurry flux into the aquifer is limited by clogging, which also tends to stabilize the trench walls by increasing the cohesiveness of the natural material. It will be apparent from the description above that the method is not applicable to significant layers of clean gravel (thickness greater them, say, 1m). In fact, the method is difficult to apply to non cohesive granular media. In these cases, the walls tend to collapse, thus increasing excavation and filling volume. Slurry is often comprised of bentonite. However, since this tends to make the side walls impervious, it is only used for creating impermeable barriers to divert contaminated groundwater e.g. the side barriers (funnel) of a funnel-and-gate system. 119
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Biodegradable slurry can be used for PRBs. This type of slurries consists of cellulose polymers, the degradation products of which flow away with groundwater. A positive side-benefit of this degradation is that it may encourage reducing conditions. While there is some experience with this method for well excavation, use in actual barriers is limited). Therefore laboratory or pilot testing, to confirm that biodegradation is indeed going to occur under the conditions expected for the designed barriers, is recommended. 7.8.4. Excavation with caissons A caisson is a cylinder (normally circular but sometimes rectangular) that is water tight and can withstand external water and soil pressures. It is frequently used for construction below the water table. The caisson is driven into the ground in a manner not entirely different to that of sheet piles. The main difference is that the whole enclosure is driven at once. This places an upper limit on the size of the caisson, which rarely exceeds 2m (much larger sizes can be achieved by simultaneous excavation and driving, but the cost increases significantly). Because of this, caissons are used for funnel-andgate systems, where the caisson is used for the gates and sheet piles (which can be driven in with the same hammer) or slurry walls make up the funnel. 7.8.5. Open trenches When the aquifer material is consolidated or displays some cohesiveness, one may not need any stabilization method. This reduces construction difficulties and results in capital savings. Even if the aquifer material is not resistant, one may excavate provided that the water level is lowered. In this case, the construction sequence would proceed as follows: 1. Excavate soil surface down to the phreatic surface using conventional equipment. 2. Install dewatering method. A well may suffice for a short PRB. A line of well points may be more appropriate for long barriers. In this case, one must make sure that the top of the pumping section is below the bottom of the trench. In either case, one should anticipate to pump contaminated water, so that a temporary treatment or diversion method should be planned. 3. Excavate trench. This can be done with conventional methods. If the material displays some cohesion, a backhoe is more appropriate because it reduces over excavation. 4. Fill trench. If the trench sides are inclined with a low slope, reactive filling must be emplaced at the same time as the excavation A particular method that deserves singular mention is continuous trenching. This is based on using a continuous trenching machine, which cuts through the soil using a chain saw type mechanism with large scoops to extract material. The trench walls are supported by means of two steel plates located on the sides of the machine. Filling material can be fed to the bottom of the excavation from a compartment on the back of the trencher. 7.8.6. Other methods In situ injection (jetting) involves the injection of reactive material (e.g. finely ground zero-valent iron) into a porous medium suspended in high pressure water. The concept has not been tested, but its possible utility is discussed by Gavaskar et al. (1998). Such technology is frequently used in 120
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geotechnical projects e.g. cement injection to create low hydraulic conductivity barriers, or to improve the resistance properties of soils.

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