Rheological Analysis of Mud: Towards an Implementation of the Nautical Bottom Concept in the Port of Hamburg

The nautical bottom (the level at which contact with a ship’s keel causes either damage or unacceptable effects on controllability and manoeuvrability of a ship) should be associated to a measurable physical characteristic. Bulk density is typically used as a criterion for nautical bottom by many ports worldwide. However, the rheological...

Influence of Anaerobic Degradation of Organic Matter on the Rheological Properties of Cohesive Mud from Different European Ports

The presence of clay-organic flocs in cohesive mud results in a complex rheological behavior of mud, including viscoelasticity, shear-thinning, thixotropy and two-step yielding. In this study, the effect of microbial degradation of organic matter on the rheological properties of mud samples, collected from different ports, was examined. The mud...

Influence of re-circulation dredging on fluid mud dynamics in seaport emden

Maintenance of the nautical depth in the seaport of Emden, Germany, is achieved by re-circulation of fluid mud using a trailing suction hopper dredger. Continued re-circulation has proven to maintain low settling rates and to keep yield stresses of re-circulated fluid mud below 50-100 Pa, in combination with densities of 1.15- 1.2 t/m³ enabling...

From fundamentals to implementation of yield stress for nautical bottom: Case study of the Port of Hamburg

The nautical bottom (i.e., the level at which contact with a ship’s keel causes either damage or unacceptable effects on controllability and manoeuvrability of a ship) should be associated to a measurable physical characteristic. Bulk density is typically used as a criterion for nautical bottom by many ports worldwide. However, the rheological...

Effect of organic matter degradation in cohesive sediment: A detailed rheological analysis

Purpose<br/>The presence of organic matter in cohesive sediment results in the formation of clay-organic flocs, which eventually impart complex rheological behavior including shear-thinning, viscoelasticity, thixotropy and two-step yielding to mud. In this study, the influence of microbial degradation of sediment organic matter on the...

A rheological and microstructural study of two-step yielding in mud samples from a port area

Natural fine-grained suspensions usually exhibit a complex rheological fingerprint – in particular a two-step yielding phenomenon – due to the presence of mineral clay particles and organic matter (often found in a flocculated state). These rheological properties may vary considerably from one location to another due to the differences in mud...

Rheological analysis and rheological modelling of mud sediments: What is the best protocol for maintenance of ports and waterways?

Natural mud sediments display complex rheological behaviour like thixotropy, viscoelasticity and yield stress. These rheological characteristics can significantly vary over depth, from one mud layer to another, as each layer can have a different density and composition. Fast and reliable measurements of yield stresses of mud samples are...

Rheology of Mud: An Overview for Ports and Waterways Applications

Mud, a cohesive material, consists of water, clay minerals, sand, silt and small quantities of organic matter (i.e., biopolymers). Amongst the different mud layers formed by human or natural activities, the fluid mud layer found on top of all the others is quite important from navigational point of view in ports and waterways. Rheological...

Using in situ density and strength measurements for sediment maintenance in ports and waterways

Purpose: Fluid mud layers can be substantial in waterways and they can jeopardise navigation when the ship’s keel comes in its vicinity. The nautical bottom has therefore to be properly characterised. Mud density and yield stress are used as criteria to characterise the nautical bottom. For a decade, measuring these parameters in situ has...

Effect of pre-shearing on the steady and dynamic rheological properties of mud sediments

Mud sediments can exhibit a complex rheological behaviour particularly a thixotropic character or structural recovery after breakup due to the presence of organic matter/biopolymer. Such biopolymers can lead towards the development of flocculated structures having multiple length scales which are sensitive to shearing rate and history. In...

Yield stress measurements of mud sediments using different rheological methods and geometries: An evidence of two-step yielding

Yield stress materials have a wide range of commercial applications. Yet, the suitable way of determining the yield stress values of a given material has been the subject of many studies and debates. Yield stresses are dependent on the material (shear) history and composition, which implies that robust protocols should be developed to study...

Rheological analysis of natural and diluted mud suspensions

Natural mud usually exhibits non-Newtonian rheological behaviors like viscoelasticity, thixotropy and yield stress. The history of each mud sample is also an important factor influencing the rheological behavior, as the state of the clay fabric – for a same composition – is dependent on the shear stresses experienced previously by the sample....

Rheological analysis of mud from Port of Hamburg, Germany

Purpose: An innovative way to define navigable fluid mud layers is to make use of their rheological properties, in particular their yield stress. In order to help the development of in situ measurement techniques, it is essential that the key rheological parameters are estimated beforehand. Is there only one yield stress? In which shear rate...

Is density enough to predict the rheology of natural sediments?

Mud is a cohesive material which contains predominantly clay minerals, water, organic matter and some amounts of silt and sand. Mud samples can have complex rheological behaviour, displaying viscoelasticity, shear-thinning, thixotropy and yield stress. In this study, influence of organic matter on the rheological behaviour of different mud...