Electro-Osmotic Consolidation Experiments on a North Sarawak Peat

Abstract

Recent studies in Southeast Asia on Bangkok and Singapore clays have shown that electro-osmosis induces faster rate of consolidation. Literature on the effectiveness of electro-osmosis technique on peat, however, is scarce. In the Sarawak State of Malaysia, peat covers about 13% of area of the State. Experimental studies were undertaken to assess the effectiveness of electro-osmosis technique on a North Sarawak peat. Peat sample was collected from a location 35 km from Miri City along the Miri to Marudi road and geotechnical characterization experiments were carried out. For electro-osmosis experiments, an experimental set-up was designed and fabricated. A preliminary experiment using a commercially available prefabricated electric vertical drain as electrodes was carried out. Several other lessons learnt during the preliminary experiment led to the modification of the set up and selection of experimental variables. The paper presents the details of the preliminary experiment, observations and results.