Electro-Osmosis ? An Experimental Study on Cochin Marine Clay Using Electrokinetic Stabilization

Electrokinetic stabilization (EKS) is an emerging technique which uses direct current (DC) or a low electric potential difference to an array of electrodes placed in the soil. Electrokinetic treatment is an effective soil improvement technique to increase shear strength. The objectives of this work include studying the influence of different arrangement of electrodes on the shear strength of soil. The various parameters that have varied throughout the test are voltage (20V, 30V), spacing (10cm, 15cm) and different arrangement of electrodes such as (3C-1A), 2anode-2cathode (2A-2C), 1anode-1cathode (1A-1C), 3cathode-1anode (3C-1A). The shear strength of soil samples were studied by conducting unconfined compression tests (UCC) on samples taken out before and after electrokinetic treatment. The water content of the samples was also checked before and after the test. The variation of current and resistance were also studied.The test results indicate that the shear strength of soil samples improved considerably after electrokinetic treatment.