| Abstract [eng] |
Groundwater contamination has emerged as a critical environmental concern due to its well-documented detrimental effects on human health and ecological systems. However, anthropogenic soil contamination, while often overlooked, presents equally significant environmental threats. This research investigates the impact of artificial soil contamination on the geotechnical properties of clay soils in Lithuania. Aim of the thesis - to investigate the geotechnical properties of artificially contaminated soil in Lithuania. Research subject - clay soil from the Late Nemunas Glacial Deposits (gIII nm3) located in Laumėnai village. Research tasks: • Collect undisturbed soil samples from UAB "Geotestus" production base in Vilnius and transport them to the Soil Testing Laboratory of the Energy Training Center in Kaunas. Select appropriate samples for further analysis, • Gather and analyse geotechnical data of Late Nemunas glacial deposits (gIII nm3) clay soils obtained from uncontaminated soil tests conducted at the Soil Mechanics Laboratory of the Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences at Vilnius University, • Perform artificial soil contamination with chemicals and prepare soil saturation for selected time intervals, • Investigate the geotechnical properties of contaminated and saturated soils using laboratory testing methods and compare them to the properties of uncontaminated, natural state soils. The research identified significant alterations in the soil's physical and mechanical properties due to contamination with diesel fuel and sodium hydroxide. Diesel fuel exposure resulted in a substantial reduction in soil cohesion, with a 45.1% decrease observed after a two-week period and a 65.8% decrease after one month compared to the initial value. Similarly, sodium hydroxide exposure led to a decrease in soil cohesion, with a 38.8% reduction after two weeks and a 77.6% reduction after one month. Interestingly, the internal friction angle exhibited an increase in both diesel fuel and sodium hydroxide cases (15° and 9°, respectively). However, the duration of contamination did not appear to have a significant effect on this particular property. |
