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Youventharan Duraisamy

Youventharan Duraisamy

B.Eng (Hons), M.Sc. (Civil Engineering), Aff.M.ASCE
Postgraduate Research Student
Centre for Geotechnical Research



School of Civil Engineering, Room 360
Phone: +61 2 9351 4393
Fax: +61 2 9351 3343
Email:

Research project - Stiffness Improvement of Biocemented Liquefiable Sandy Soil

Researcher is interested to find out the potential of Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) technique in mitigating liquefaction problems. Liquefaction resulting from earthquakes has led to significant failures to man-made structures as shown in Figure 1 and 2. Seismic induced liquefaction occurs in loose granular soils that are below the ground water table. According to Mitchell et al. (1995), the existing technologies for stabilizing soil to mitigate liquefaction are limited to undeveloped sites. Therefore a more reliable and a cost effective method should be developed to mitigate liquefaction problems in the future. The main objective of this research is to develop a cost effective technique which is more reliable in terms of low investment and maintenance cost. The specific objectives are listed below:

1. To identify a suitable source of bacteria and its nutrients that works well for maximum urease activity
2. To measure the strength, hydraulic conductivity and stiffness improvement of porous medium potential to liquefaction phenomena
3. To gauge the performance of exogenous and indigenous urea hydrolyzing bacteria in terms of calcite production and biomass

image 1

Figure 1: Lateral spread in New Zealand, caused by liquefaction in 2010

image 2

Figure 2: Liquefaction caused this sewer to float upward in 2004, Japan

Publications

  • Abdullah, M., Huat, B. B. K., Kamaruddin, R., Ali, A. K. & Duraisamy, Y. (2007). Design and Performance of EPS Footing for Lightweight Farm Structure on Peat Soil. American Journal of Applied Science 4(7): 484-490, 2007.
  • Duraisamy, Y., Huat, B. B. K., & Aziz, A. A. (2007). Compressibility Behavior of Tropical Peat Reinforced with Cement Column. American Journal of Applied Science 4(10): 784-789, 2007.
  • Duraisamy, Y., Huat, B. B. K., & Aziz, A. A. (2007). Engineering Properties and Compressibility Behavior of Tropical Peat Soil. American Journal of Applied Science 4(10): 765-770, 2007.
  • Duraisamy, Y., Huat, B. B. K., & Aziz, A.A. (2007). Methods of Utilizing Tropical Peat Land for Housing Scheme. American Journal of Environmental Science. 3(4): 258-263, 2007.
  • Duraisamy, Y., Huat, B. B. K. & Muniandy, R. (2009). Compressibility Behavior of Fibrous Peat Reinforced with Cement Columns. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering Journal, Springer. 27(5): 619-629, 2009.