Quantifying hydraulic conductivity spatial variability for cement-based solidification/stabilization (S/S) remediation project: case study

Abstract

This paper presents statistical analyses of hydraulic conductivity data collected from an existing cement-based solidification/stabilization (S/S) system. The goal is to characterize the spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity and to examine sampling recommendations for the quality control (QC) program of that system to achieve target decision error probabilities regarding the acceptance or rejection of the system with respect to hydraulic conductivity. Over 2000 QC hydraulic conductivity samples, taken over an area of 300 000 m2, are used as a basis for these analyses. The hydraulic conductivity spatial variability is described by a marginal lognormal distribution with correlation function parameterized by directional correlation lengths, which are estimated by best fitting an exponentially decaying correlation model to sample correlation functions. The spatial variability associated with hydraulic conductivity of the studied S/S system is then utilized to assess sampling requirements for the QC program of that system. Considering the “worst case” correlation length and the hydraulic conductivity mean and variance, hypothesis test error probabilities are used to provide recommendations for conservative sampling requirements. It is believed that the analysis of this large construction project represents a unique opportunity to review the current practice of S/S field sampling requirements.