Characteristics of electro-osmosis consolidation and resistivity evolution in soft clay reinforced with recycled carbon fibers

This study repurposed discarded carbon fiber fabric by mechanically cutting it into short-cut carbon fibers and utilized these fibers in electro-osmosis experiments with varying lengths (5 mm, 10 mm, and 15 mm) and mixing ratios (0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.25%). The results indicated that increasing the length and mixing ratio of recycled carbon fibers effectively reduced the soil resistivity. Furthermore, incorporating an appropriate amount of carbon fibers not only reduced the energy consumption coefficient but also enhanced the electro-osmotic drainage performance. Increasing the length and mixing ratio of carbon fiber also improved the vane shear strength after electro-osmosis consolidation. To promote the application of carbon fiber in electro-osmosis consolidation and to provide support for the development of electro-osmosis consolidation theory and numerical analysis, a resistivity calculation model of carbon fiber-reinforced soil during the electro-osmosis process was developed based on the Ohm's Law and tunneling transmission theory. The model elucidates that during the electro-osmosis process, soil resistivity is influenced by the increase in barrier thickness, which consequently raises the tunneling transmission resistance.