Geotechnical assessment of marginal soils for sustainable infrastructure

民用基础设施的可持续（成本效益、环境友好和社会可行）管理取决于对支撑土壤的工程特性的清晰理解。边缘土质（膨胀粘土和可塌陷泥沙）与不断变化的气象条件的相互作用对地下公用设施的不间断使用提出了严峻的挑战。TransGas有限公司提供天然气（14000公里长的管道）以及配电网络（69000公里的主管道和390000个单独的服务）的系统完整性评估和服务。与地埋管道相关的主要问题是岩土管道的故障率，从40/年到110/年不等。为了支持公司的管理策略，这项合作研究的主要目标是了解和改善边缘土壤的岩土力学行为。这是该公司第一次参与对本地土壤沉积物的综合岩土工程评价。基于详细的研究计划（使用实验室调查和数值模拟），将开发一个科学框架来处理萨斯喀彻温省的膨胀和可折叠沉积物。土壤性质将在自然和压实条件下使用饱和和非饱和土力学的基本概念进行研究。由此产生的创新技术（表征协议和计算预测）将对民用基础设施系统的设计、建造、运营和修复至关重要。对TransGas有限公司来说，了解和改善当地边际土壤的预期经济效益是减少泄漏调查的数量，并优先考虑网络内的脆弱区域。同样，减少管道破裂和天然气泄漏所带来的环境和安全效益将确保公众对天然气分配系统的信心。研究结果将对公司正在进行和未来的管道网络扩展至关重要。最后，技术专长的预期能力发展、高素质专业人员的招聘和多学科互动是里贾纳大学的重要利益

The sustainable (cost effective, environmentally friendly, and socially viable) management of civilinfrastructure depends on a clear understanding of the engineering properties of the supporting soils. Theinteraction of marginal earthen materials (expansive clays and collapsible silts) with changing meteorologicalconditions poses serious challenges to an uninterrupted use of buried utilities. TransGas Limited providesnatural gas (14,000 km long pipeline) as well as system integrity assessment and service for the distributionnetwork (69,000 km of mains and 390,000 individual services). The main issue associated with buried pipes isthe variable geotechnical pipe failure rate that ranges from 40/year to 110/year. In support of the company'smanagement strategy, the main objective of this collaborative research is to understand and improve thegeotechnical behavior of marginal soils. This is the first time that the company is participating in acomprehensive geotechnical evaluation of indigenous soils deposits. Based on a detailed research program(using laboratory investigation and numerical modeling), a scientific framework will be developed to workwith expansive and collapsible sediments in Saskatchewan. Soil properties will be investigated usingfundamental concepts of saturated and unsaturated soil mechanics under natural and compacted conditions.The resulting innovative technology (characterization protocols and computational predictions) will be pivotalfor the design, construction, operation, and rehabilitation of civil infrastructure systems. The expectedeconomic benefits of understanding and improving local marginal soils for TransGas Limited are minimizingthe number of leak surveys and prioritizing vulnerable areas within the networks. Likewise, the environmentaland safety benefits due to reduced pipe ruptures and gas leaks will ensure public confidence in the natural gasdistribution system. The research results will be critical for the company for ongoing and future pipelinenetwork expansions. Finally, the expected capacity development in technical expertise, recruitment of highlyqualified professionals, and multi-disciplinary interactions are important benefits for the University of Regina