Flocculation–solidification combined method for treatment of hydraulically dredged mud at extra high water content

A new method, i.e., flocculation–solidification combined method (FSCM), is proposed for building a working platform efficiently and economically at the surface of newly reclaimed ground filled with hydraulically dredged mud slurry at extra high water content (EHW-MS). A number of laboratory experiments are performed in this paper to identify the feasibility and mechanism of the proposed FSCM. First, the reasonable flocculant dosage range suitable for FSCM is determined by the simple sedimentation tests. Second, the engineering properties of FSCM, pure cement solidification method (PCSM) and pure flocculation conditioning method (PFCM) treated EHW-MS are compared in detail via a series of model tests, to demonstrate the superiority of FSCM over PCSM and the influence of flocculant dosage on FSCM efficiency. Third, the superiority of FSCM over PCSM is rationalized from the perspective of intrinsic working mechanism of flocculant and PCSM. Results demonstrate well that FSCM shows substantial superiority over PCSM, and at the reasonable flocculant dosage, the strength of FSCM-treated EHW-MS is at least 5.7 times larger than that of the corresponding PCSM-treated EHW-MS. The superiority of FSCM over PCSM can be attributed to two aspects, i.e., the dewatering effect and the other detrimental effect. The former is predominant and primarily governs the strength gain of FSCM-treated EHW-MS, while the latter is less significant but not negligible.