Slurry Walls as Barriers to the Flow of Pollutant Liquids and Gas

INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS GROUND MEETINGS PANEL

CONTAMINATED LAND: GEOTECHNICAL REMEDIATION PROCESSES

Wednesday 1st February 1995

INTRODUCTORY NOTES

Interest in control of pollutant liquids and gas from domestic and industrial wastes has led to the

adoption of slurry wall techniques from their use in hydraulic structures for which they were

originally devised.

The process is essentially very simple. Unlined slit trenches are excavated and simultaneously

filled with clay slurry. The tendency to outward seepage creates a relativity impervious clayey

filter cake on the excavation surfaces on which hydrostatic pressure acts to counter destabilising

earth pressures. The use of a self-hardening mud removes the necessity for back filling. If