AI Review of “Electrokinetic Geosynthetics, Electro-Osmosis Constitutive Model, and Numerical Modelling”

现在AI审稿能做到这种程度了吗?不太像啊!

This submission provides an insightful examination of the advancements in the field of electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG), with a detailed focus on the development of new conductive materials, their application in geotechnical engineering, and a novel constitutive model based on energy level gradients. The manuscript underlines the interdisciplinary nature of modern geosynthetics and the potential for future research in enhancing large-scale applications.

Overview

The primary objectives of this work are to present recent developments in electrokinetic geosynthetics, demonstrate the practical applications of these materials in large-scale electro-osmotic dewatering and consolidation, and validate a new numerical modelling approach based on energy level gradients. The work is positioned within the broader context of renewed interest in electro-osmosis and its potential applications in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. Assumptions implicit in this study include the assertion that advancements in material science and power management can significantly optimize electrokinetic applications in soil improvement.

Relevant References

Including a clear literature review helps reviewers quickly see what’s new and why it matters, which can speed up the review and improve acceptance chances. The following references were selected because they relate closely to the topics and ideas in your submission. They may provide helpful context, illustrate similar methods, or point to recent developments that can strengthen how your work is positioned within the existing literature.

Zhuang, Yan-Feng. “Large Scale Soft Ground Consolidation Using Electrokinetic Geosynthetics.” Geotextiles and Geomembranes, Elsevier BV, 2021, doi:10.1016/j.geotexmem.2020.12.006.

Strengths

This paper demonstrates several notable strengths. Most prominent is its contribution to the modernization of electrokinetic geosynthetics, highlighting the transition from conceptual stages to mass production of materials like E-board and E-tube. Its focus on innovative design and manufacturing processes for these materials shows significant originality. Additionally, the manuscript’s integration of novel numerical modeling using the energy level gradient theory is commendable. It provides a new theoretical framework that supplements traditional approaches, potentially leading to more effective engineering designs in geotechnical applications. This interdisciplinary approach bridges material science, electrical engineering, and geotechnical engineering, which could enhance its relevance across multiple domains.

Major Comments

Methodology

While the development and application of the energy level gradient theory are intriguing, the paper would benefit from a more detailed explanation of the methodology used in deriving this model. The theoretical background and its application for the numerical simulations, particularly the assumptions and boundary conditions used, are not fully elaborated. Providing comprehensive mathematical derivations and a clearer rationale for selecting certain simulation parameters would enhance the robustness and reproducibility of the research.

Scalability

The scalability of the proposed materials and methods, particularly the roll-polling program in smart DC power supply, suggests practical applications on a large scale. However, more empirical data demonstrating the effectiveness and economic feasibility of these technologies in real-world conditions is necessary. Case studies or field trials that consider various soil types, environmental conditions, and long-term performance would substantially bolster the paper’s claims.

Ethical Framing

There is a need for a stronger discussion on the environmental and ethical implications of using electrokinetic methods. Issues such as the potential for unintended environmental impacts, material lifecycle assessments, and strategies for minimizing ecological footprints could enhance the paper’s depth in this area.

Minor Comments

Figures and Diagrams

The provided figures, particularly the meshing of the model and electric potential contour lines, are valuable for understanding the theoretical and numerical approaches discussed. However, captions and annotations should be enhanced to include explanations of key components and analytical points. Including a legend or color scale bar with each figure would improve comprehension for readers unfamiliar with the specific modeling parameters.

Glossary Placement

The manuscript would benefit from a glossary section or footnotes that define technical terms and abbreviations, such as EKG, PVD, and others used throughout the text. This would aid readers less familiar with these terminologies and enhance their understanding of the content.

Reviewer Commentary

This paper showcases the potential of combining advancements in materials engineering with electrokinetic techniques to address complex geotechnical challenges. It reflects a progressive outlook on how traditional geotechnical practices can evolve with emerging technologies. However, it also raises questions about the limits of current numerical models and the necessity of validating these models against extensive empirical evidence. The paper could further explore the interdisciplinary potential and policy implications of adopting these technologies universally.

Summary Assessment

The manuscript presents a significant step toward modernizing geosynthetics and offers an innovative approach to numerical modeling in geotechnical engineering. Its intellectual contribution lies in merging theoretical developments with practical applications, potentially advancing conversations around sustainable engineering and resource management. By addressing the scalability, environmental, and ethical concerns outlined, this work could significantly influence the future of large-scale geotechnical applications in both research and industry.

In conclusion, the paper offers a promising vision for the future of electrokinetic geosynthetics but requires further empirical validation and ethical consideration to fully realize its potential.

EK & RSK

The presentation attached at the end of this post was from Colin Jones.
(Refresh a few more times if the pptx is not shown properly. Either Google Doc viewer or Microsoft office viewer has some problems in some special zones of the Internet.)
Some cases shown in the presentation are from us. It is an interesting and overlapping area to be explored and we have been in this area for more than 20 years. More and more novel and interesting topics in this area have been discovered and we keep on widen their application potential in different engineering areas.

PS: there was a news that the EK Co. was merged to the RSK.
I went back several times to the EU but not to the UK again and it has been around 15 years.
Hope to travel again when the pandemic ends.

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Smart DC Power Supply and Roll Polling Program

The first EKG (E-board) in China:

Zhuang, Y.F., Zou, W., Wang, Z., Tan, X., Hu, P., Hu, S., Yan, Y., Wang, Y., 2012. Electrically conductive PVD. Chinese Patent. Grant Number: ZL201210197981.4.

The first field trial using E-board in China:

Zhuang, Y.F., Huang, Y., Liu, F., Zou, W., Li, Z., 2014. Case study on hydraulic reclaimed sludge consolidation using electrokinetic geosynthetics. In: 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics. DGGT, Berlin, Germany.

After the field trial, it was found that power requirement, instead of energy consumption, is the biggest challenge for field application using electro-osmosis. And I believe this is the case for most applications using electrokinetic technique in Geo.

Zhuang, Y.F., 2015. Challenges of electro-osmotic consolidation in large scale application. In: Conference of Geosynthetics 2015. IFAI, Portland, Oregon, USA, pp. 447–449.

Therefore, I have been focusing on Smart DC Power Source and looking for a way to reduce both power requirement and energy consumption. Roll Polling Program seems to be a solution. It reduces the requirement of current intensity to 1/3; it also decreases the energy consumption to less than 1 kW⋅h/m3. Following contents are direct quote from the publication:

Zhuang, Y.F., 2021. Large scale soft ground consolidation using electrokinetic geosynthetics. Geotext. Geomembranes 49 (2021) 757–770.

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当堆砌文献成为流行的写作习惯

这不是什么进步。。。

巨大的创新往往是没有什么参考文献的,然而没有参考文献,你投的论文可能都无法送审,哪怕你是爱因斯坦。。。

诸如research gate这样的平台可能带来一些变数,然而整个方向会迈向何处,很难说。 此间矛盾之处在于,没有同行评审的平台,可能让论文回归论文的本质:记录、分享和交流;但是,同行评审的缺失,使得信息的可信度存疑。
peer review本身并不是问题,问题在于其他地方,如 Frank Wilczek所述。

Frank Anthony Wilczek (/ˈwɪltʃɛk/;[2] born May 15, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist, mathematician and a Nobel laureate.

Could Einstein Get Published Today?

By –Frank Wilczek

The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity ——by Albert Einstein’s , 1915
Continue reading “当堆砌文献成为流行的写作习惯”

Join us

It is the first time that I put on a post to say “Hey! Join us, if you are interested in.”

We are doing amazing research here with incredible enthusiasm and broad interests.

There are tons of reasons that people choose to do research; it could be a hobby, or to make a living, or any reason you name it, but my favourite reason is always that you love it. If you love your job, then you will do it with passion and happiness. 996 is never a problem only if you love it. (Well, it doesn’t mean 996 in our team…I never advocate that. See the photo, people played badminton; and we should do it more later on.)

My interests include (but not limited to)

1. Impact of electricity on clay minerals

By applying electric voltage on clay minerals, we look at the variation of its mineral structure and engineering behaviours. This could be a scientific research on clay mineral level (chemical & micro level); it could also be linked to potential engineering application in the area of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering.

2. Soil remediation and ground water treatment

This is a research area on removal of pollutants from contaminated soil or protection of ground water. This research topic can be linked to EK technique as well. And another possibility is to use Fe-rich clay minerals as redox materials for ground water treatment.

3. Dewatering and consolidation

This topic is about removal of water from very fine-grained soil, like sludge, slurry, clay, etc. These kinds of materials have very low hydraulic conductivity, but electro-osmosis can be an effective method for dewatering and consolidation of them. We are looking at the challenges of this EO technique in large scale of application.

4. Geosynthetics

We are interested in application of geosynthetics.

1) Reinforcement, which is a very popular application for decades and lots of people from academy and industry are doing it.

2) Filtration and drainage. This topic is related to dewatering and consolidation. One of the special issues that we are especially interested in is the clogging problem of geotextiles. There are lot of things to do, include mechanism of clogging, update of manufacturing and design code, invention of novel types of geotextiles.

3) One more thing about geosynthetics, which is special for our research is EKG. This novel material presents a new category of geosynthetic and I’ve been staying in this topic for over decade.

5. Unsaturated soil, constitutive model and numerical modelling

We are carrying out this research partially also because of EK technique. When applying EK technique, it is related to unsaturated soil and suction. Therefore, we’ve been developing completely new constitutive model and trying to apply it in suction measurement, EK design and also trying to develop code for numerical modelling and software for EK design.

6. Mining, tailing, liquefaction, etc.

More researches that are related to my basic interests previously mentioned are being explored, we will see more ideas and fantastic work coming up.

So…welcome to join us…

And also, any collaboration is welcome.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Yan-feng Zhuang (zhuang@tsinghua.edu.cn)

唧唧复唧唧,我是泰沙基

该贴部分引自知乎(英文部分另有出处,分别见下文链接)
Terzaghi文稿 | 土力学—工程科学的新篇章

“Soil Mechanics arrived at the borderline between science and art. I use the term “art” to indicate mental processes leading to satisfactory results without the assistance of step-for-step logical reasoning…To acquire competence in the field of earthwork engineering one must live with the soil. One must love it and observe its performance not only in the laboratory but also in the field, to become familiar with those of its manifold properties that are not disclosed by boring records…”

Karl-Terzaghi-The-Engineer-as-Artist

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Continue reading “唧唧复唧唧,我是泰沙基”

An interesting historical paper on electro-osmosis

I believe that most information is somewhere on the internet; the question is if you can find it. This is part of a paper about the history of electro-osmosis, which was digitized by google.
In ancient time, scientific discovery was communicated within scientists via correspondence, which is good, but rather impossible now. The latest news about coronavirus… Are those … working for helping people or just for publishing papers?

Porrett

汪闻韶与电渗

在对土中电渗问题的研究中,他澄清了电渗对饱和土力学性状的影响;提出了电渗和水力渗透混合流公式;解释了电渗加固软土的机理,说明了电渗在土力学中的应用:

1)是利用电渗对孔隙水动力学性的影响,在适当的布置下,使土体稳定性暂时获得加强。2)是利用电渗排水,降低土中含水量。3)是利用电渗促进土中束缚水移动的作用,促进地基软粘土层的固结。4)是利用直流电在土中所引起的离子交换和新化合物形成与胶积等物理化学作用,增进土的强度,减少土的塑性、干缩性。5)是利用电渗作用在土中灌注化学溶液以改进土的工程性质。六是利用连续间歇的电场作用,减少土壤侧面的阻力,可用于打桩、拔桩等工程。

汪闻韶的《直流电在土中作用及其对土的物理力学性的影响》论文获得中国科学院科学奖金三等奖。

汪闻韶_献身水利__情深似海_彭小东

Continue reading “汪闻韶与电渗”