Prof. D. N. Singh

ASHA LATHA R.

M.Tech.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, India asha491991@gmail.com

INVESTIGATIONS TO ESTABLISH BIO-GEO INTERFACE IN COARSE-GRAINED SOILS

The interaction between geomaterials (viz., soils and rocks) and microorganisms might result into development of an interface, which is defined as?bio-geo interface?. However, conventional geotechnical engineering practices do not consider this phenomenon and not many systematic studies have been performed and reported in the literature, yet. Hence, to exhibit the formation and extent of this interface, and up to what extent this interface would be instrumental in altering the basic characteristics of the geomaterials become quite intricate issues. In order to address these issues, and to begin with in this extremely interesting and challenging task, efforts were made in this study to develop a protocol that could be used to establish this interface in coarse-grained geomaterials (viz., sands). This study also demonstrates the utility of advanced instrumentation techniques viz., ESEM and Cryo-FEG SEM in this context.