Effects of seawater on the infiltration behavior of bentonite slurry into sand

As a support fluid, bentonite slurry has been extensively used in slurry shield tunneling to stabilize the tunnel face by forming a low-permeable filter cake. However, the infiltration behavior of bentonite slurry in complex conditions such as when suffering from seawater intrusion has not been fully understood. In order to investigate the infiltration behavior and filter cake formation under seawater intrusion, seawater-based bentonite slurries with increased salt content were prepared to represent different seawater intrusion severities. The rheological properties and physical stability of these slurries were evaluated. A series of infiltration column tests were conducted on two saturated sand beds with different particle sizes. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed to unravel the microstructure of the filter cake. The infiltration column test results show that the low-permeable filter cake can be formed on the fine sand bed regardless of the salt content of the slurry. The salt shortened the time span of the mud spurt and made the filter cake more permeable to water. For the medium sand, the filter cake cannot be formed when the salt content exceeds 1%, because the deterioration of rheological properties of the slurry weakened its rheological blocking effect when infiltrating the sand. Based on the SEM images, it was found that the filter cake under seawater intrusion contained many well-connected inter-agglomerate channels that reduced its sealing quality. The obtained results can provide guidance and reference for the application of bentonite slurry when tunneling in a sea environment.