Effects of Xanthan Gum Biopolymer on the Permeability, Odometer, Unconfined Compressive and Triaxial Shear Behavior of a Sand

Abstract

Biopolymers, which are microbially induced polymers, can be used as an alternative material to improve engineering performance of soils. In this paper, a laboratory study of 0.075-1.0 mm size sand and biopolymer (i.e., xanthan gum) mixtures with various mix ratios (0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%) was performed. The materials, specimen preparation, and test methods are described, as are the results of a suite of permeability, odometer, unconfined compressive, and triaxial shear tests. The results suggests that specimen formation in the way used here could reduce permeability and increase compressibility, strength, and deformation characteristics in terms of stiffness.