Mechanism Study on the Construction of Ultra-Thin Antiseepage Wall by Polymer Injection

Abstract

A new technology of constructing ultra-thin antiseepage walls by polymer injection has been developing. The mechanism of polymer expanding and filling the slot formed by the direct pushing method is studied in this paper. The expansion-filling mechanism of the polymer in the preset slot in soil is simulated with the finite-volume method (FVM) and the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. The construction technology of polymer injection is also investigated. The injecting effect has been verified through field experiment and the antiseepage effect of the formed wall has been theoretically analyzed by the finite-element method (FEM). The results show that the polymer-injection technology is suitable for forming a continuous anti-seepage wall in earth dams or dikes.