Category: Soil mechanics

Disintegration and stability of soils related to dredging

CEDA Dredging Days 2024: My Presentation On Clay Cutting

Initial clay cutting tests for my PhD project CHiPS
Initial clay cutting tests for my PhD project CHiPS

Next week is the biannual CEDA Dredging Days event1. This time fully focused on presentations, networking and having a good time together with like minded people. Since a long time, it will not be in conjunction with the distractions of the Europort exhibition. Instead, it will be in the impressive WTC Rotterdam. This is an excellent opportunity to share with you the progress of my PhD project on clay cutting at the TU Delft2. As a teaser, I would like to share with you some observations from my literature study, already3. Starting to search for literature via Google results in this:

Literature on clay (Kushim, 3400BC)4
Literature on clay (Kushim, 3400BC)4

When estimating the cutting production of a dredge, the objective is to find the specific cutting energy for that dredge in combination with the soil properties and correctly chosen operational settings. The specific cutting energy is the amount of power needed to excavate a volume of soil from the bottom5. The funny thing is, when you work out the dimensions of the specific cutting energy, the unit is similar to a stress or pressure. So, there should be a direct relation between the specific cutting energy and a soil property. But which one? For cohesive soils as clay, there are: shear strength, cohesion, adhesion, tensile strength, yield strength. The VOUB course6 recommends to use an empirically derived relation between the cohesion and the deformation rate (which in turn is based on the operating settings) for the specific cutting energy.

Specific Cutting Energy Empirical (Bart van der Schrieck, 1996)
Specific Cutting Energy Empirical (Bart van der Schrieck, 1996)

In contrast to this empirical model, one could also start at the displacements of the clay particles and model the implications for the larger continuum mathematically. This has been investigated by Sape Miedema, who has published countless articles and an impressive book on the topic7. Following this through, the estimated specific cutting energy is in the same range as the empirical model. However, on closer inspection, there are some variations on the outer limits of the deformation rate.

Specific Cutting Energy Theoretical (Sape Miedema, 1992)
Specific Cutting Energy Theoretical (Sape Miedema, 1992)

This discrepancy is probably due applying the model under all conditions. Miedema already recommends to check for the validity of the assumptions in the model. At very thin cutting layers, the resulting chip may form a long curl. When cutting thick layers, the blade will cut out chunks. And those cutting types will have different force equilibriums, resulting in different cutting forces. Miedema suggested a three regime map of cutting types, which coincidently resembles the curves found empirically.

Cutting types (Sape Miedema, 1992)
Cutting types (Sape Miedema, 1992)

It appears, there are many more cutting types possible for a myriad of soil properties and operating conditions. However, the published results and proposed models are not directly applicable for the dredging industry. Either the conditions or assumptions differ (dry earth works for example) or parameters or data has been failed to included in the publication. This leads to some white spots in the knowledge that I hope to colour in with my future models and upcoming experiments8.

Clay cutting test rig at DDE in Nijkerk
Clay cutting test rig at DDE in Nijkerk

References

  1. Welcome to CEDA’s (revamped) Dredging Days 2024
  2. Personal Announcement: Going Back To School To Cut Some Clay
  3. CEDA Announcement of my presentation, LinkedIn
  4. What was the first (known) maths mistake? Matt Parker
  5. Experiencing The Cutting Edge Of Dredging Technology
  6. VOUB Cursus 1998, Deel X, hoofdstuk 12, VBKO
  7. The Delft Sand, Clay & Rock Cutting Model, Sape Miedema
  8. Mechanical excavation of clayey soils, a review of the physical phenomena occurring, Mark Winkelman et al (CEDA Dredging Days 2024)

See also

Working Group ‘Sand’ Visits Damen: Perspectives On Sand From Micro to Macro Scale

Working Group ‘Sand’ visiting the Dredging Experience at Damen Dredging Equipment
Working Group ‘Sand’ visiting the Dredging Experience at Damen Dredging Equipment

You may already know, that I am very interested in this miniscule particle that is the foundation of our business. To learn more about this element, I joint the Working Group ‘Sand’ of the Dutch Association for Geological Activities1. It is a colourful group of enthusiasts that collect, photograph and research sand in all its splendour. During the relaxed Saturday afternoon meetings, the members gradually noticed, I had a slightly different, professional interest in sand. They boldly asked if they could visit our company for their annual excursion. Maybe my presentation, by at least the excellent weather made for a very successful event.

Measuring the grain density of sand
Measuring the grain density of sand

One aspect of the sand grains we wanted to measure was the buoyancy of the particles. This is done by measuring the density of the grains. You have a tube of water with a known volume. You add sand with a known mass. And just as Archimedes2 predicted, the water will rise with the displaced volume of the grains. Dividing the mass by the displaced volume yields the density of the grains. Surprisingly, this method is quite accurate. For a static condition this is perfectly satisfying. However, in most dredging situations, the grains are dynamically jostled around in slurry transport or breaking up sediment at the cutter.

Effective grain density due to adherent fluid
Effective grain density due to adherent fluid

When a solid grain is moving through a fluid, it is usually considered as a perfect sphere. Nothing is perfect in nature and grains do have a range of shapes, that at best are similar to potato’s. A very jagged grain will have lot’s of nooks and crannies filled with the fluid. This fluid is moving with the particle and contributes to the mass and volume of the particle. This adherent fluid is much more reliably assumed to be a sphere. Fluids in a zero gravity situation tends to behave like a sphere. The diameter of the sphere can be taken as the maximum diameter of the grain that can be measured.

Measuring the effective volume of sand grains
Measuring the effective volume of sand grains

Through a microscope, you will only be able to see the lateral area or the cross-section of a grain. Both area and volume have a relation to diameter. So, the measured area is reduced to an equivalent round area with an equivalent diameter and consequently an equivalent volume. The volumes and masses of that equivalent volume of sand and the shell of adherent water will yield an apparent density of the moving particle.

Effect of apparent density on dredge performance
Effect of apparent density on dredge performance

In the end, my objective was to learn through the microscope the effect the shape of the sand had on the performance of our dredges. As seen in a calculation in our production estimating program, the effect can be significant. Certainly an influence we want to know and assist our customer with appropriate advise3. My visits to the meetings of the Working Group ‘Sand’ were a real benefit in understanding sand. But, to my surprise, through the working group I also learned to appreciate the beauty of the all the different sand minerals that can be found.

Picture of various sand grains in an interesting mixed sample
Picture of various sand grains in an interesting mixed sample

References

  1. Werkgroep Zand, Stichting GEA
  2. Archimedes, Wikipedia
  3. In house R&D Department, Damen Dredging Equipment

See also

Digital Microscopes, Dino-Lite

Graduation of Ines Ben M’hamed: The Strength of Clay in a Test Rig

Ines Ben M’hamed defending her graduation thesis
Ines Ben M’hamed defending her graduation thesis

Last week, Ines Ben M’hamed graduated with good grades on her bachelor thesis. She did a project with us at the Research Department of Damen Dredging Equipment in Nijkerk. The topic was to investigate the strengthening of clay when it is subjected to shear. This deformation is a common phenomenon when cutting clay and as such a contribution to my own PhD project1 and consequently improving our products for these applications. A common problem with clay is clogging up the cutter head, but it is also not completely understood why the clay is behaving as it does and how much power is involved for the various regimes.

Fully covered cutter head in sticky clay

The effects of deformation on the behaviour of clay are much more pronounced than e.g. sand or rock. Rock does not deform, it just breaks. Sand deforms, but as it basically only involves hydraulic and mechanical forces, it is much better understood. Clay particles have wider range of interactions. Next to the hydraulic and mechanical forces, they may experience: adhesion and cohesion, molecular forces, electrostatic charges and chemical bonding in the higher temperature ranges. The general effect is that as the particles in the original situation may have a weak structure, the external disturbance causes the particles to get jostled around and all the mentioned interaction get a chance to hook on to each other.

Shear strengthening due to organising particles
Shear strengthening due to organising particles

The result is, that the particles get oriented and therewith a better opportunity to bond. The effect is a strengthening of the shear stress. As this strengthening is dependent on the strain rate, it is this strain rate, that is of interest for the prediction of the cutting forces. There are many publications available on what the consequences are of the strain rate on the Specific Cutting Energy. A well known model is by Sape Miedema2.

Strain Rate Effect on the Specific Cutting Energy (Credit: SA Miedema)
Strain Rate Effect on the Specific Cutting Energy (Credit: SA Miedema)

The trick with this model is, it depends on this strain rate effect. The sole experimental data available is by Hatamura and Chijiwa3 in 1975. They tested one type of clay on the three governing parameters: static shear strength, dynamic shear strength and the strain rate. There hasn’t been hardly any further experimental investigation into this problem. And as we regularly receive samples and soil reports that we can not test on these properties, it is also hard to predict the performance of our cutter heads. So, we decided to build our own cutting test rig.

Design of Ines’ cutting test rig
Design of Ines’ cutting test rig

This cutting test rig resembles the specifications to the original test rig of Hatamura. This will allow us to verify the parameters in the model ourselves. We also prepared the design with various option to enable us to allow assessment of clay samples that we receive from clients and service engineers. We hope to provide our customers with additional service in this problem. Currently, the parts of the test rig arrived very late and Ines was not able to include the build in her project. Respect for the good grade she received for her thesis. However, the parts are there and provide and excellent opportunity for the next graduation student to do their project with our company. Who dares?

Available parts for the cutting test rig
Available parts for the cutting test rig

References

  1. Personal Announcement: Going Back To School To Cut Some Clay, Discover Dredging
  2. The Delft Sand Clay & Rock Cutting Model, SA Miedema
  3. Analysis Of the Mechanism of Soil : 1st Report. Cutting Patterns of Soils, Hatamura & Chijiwa

See also