TY - JOUR
T1 - A numerical bio-geotechnical model of pressure-responsive Microbially-Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation
AU - Wang, Jianye
AU - Mitrani, Helen
AU - Wipat, Anil
AU - Moreland, Polly
AU - Haystead, Jamie
AU - Zhang, Meng
AU - Dade-Robertson, Martyn
N1 - Funding information: This research was funded by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, grant number EP/N005791/1, EP/R003629/1 and EP/R003777/1 and National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 42202309.
PY - 2024/3/28
Y1 - 2024/3/28
N2 - The employment of Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is of increasing interest as a technique for environmentally sustainable soil stabilisation. Recent advancements in synthetic biology have allowed for the conception of a pressure-responsive MICP process, wherein bacteria are engineered to sense environmental loads, thereby offering the potential to stabilise specific soil regions selectively. In this study, a 2D smart bio-geotechnical model is proposed based on a pressure-responsive MICP system. Experimentally obtained pressure-responsive genes and hypothetical genes with different pressure responses were applied in the model and two soil profiles were evaluated. The resulting model bridges scales from gene expression within bacteria cells to geotechnical simulations. The results show that both strata and gene expression–pressure relationships have a significant influence on the distribution pattern of calcium carbonate precipitation within the soil matrix. Among the evaluated experimental genes, Gene A demonstrates the best performance in both of the two soil profiles due to the effective stabilisation in the centre area beneath the load, while Genes B and C are more effective in reinforcing peripheral regions. Furthermore, when the hypothetical genes are utilised, there is an increasing stabilisation area with a decreased threshold value. The results show that the technique can be used for soil reinforcement in specific areas.
AB - The employment of Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is of increasing interest as a technique for environmentally sustainable soil stabilisation. Recent advancements in synthetic biology have allowed for the conception of a pressure-responsive MICP process, wherein bacteria are engineered to sense environmental loads, thereby offering the potential to stabilise specific soil regions selectively. In this study, a 2D smart bio-geotechnical model is proposed based on a pressure-responsive MICP system. Experimentally obtained pressure-responsive genes and hypothetical genes with different pressure responses were applied in the model and two soil profiles were evaluated. The resulting model bridges scales from gene expression within bacteria cells to geotechnical simulations. The results show that both strata and gene expression–pressure relationships have a significant influence on the distribution pattern of calcium carbonate precipitation within the soil matrix. Among the evaluated experimental genes, Gene A demonstrates the best performance in both of the two soil profiles due to the effective stabilisation in the centre area beneath the load, while Genes B and C are more effective in reinforcing peripheral regions. Furthermore, when the hypothetical genes are utilised, there is an increasing stabilisation area with a decreased threshold value. The results show that the technique can be used for soil reinforcement in specific areas.
KW - microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP)
KW - responsive materials
KW - synthetic biology
KW - bio-mediated soil stabilisation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192576108&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/app14072854
DO - 10.3390/app14072854
M3 - Article
SN - 2076-3417
VL - 14
JO - Applied Sciences
JF - Applied Sciences
IS - 7
M1 - 2854
ER -