Year
2025
Season
Fall
Paper Type
Master's Thesis
College
College of Computing, Engineering & Construction
Degree Name
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)
Department
Engineering
NACO controlled Corporate Body
University of North Florida. School of Engineering
Committee Chairperson
Dr. Raphael Crowley
Second Advisor
Dr. Ellis Terri
Third Advisor
Dr. Brian Wingender
Department Chair
Dr. Alan Harris
College Dean
Dr. William Klostermeyer
Abstract
Coastal dune and berm systems along Florida’s shoreline have always been targets of intense hurricane activity. These events generate hydraulic forces capable of mobilizing large volumes of sediment, stripping protective dunes, eroding berms, and exposing inland infrastructure. Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) has emerged as a promising surface stabilization method for reducing erosion in coastal environments, but field implementation has been limited by high reagent demand and multi-cycle treatment requirements. Recent studiess using bioslurry, a premixed bacterial–urea–calcium chloride solution demonstrated that meaningful erosion resistance can be achieved with single surface applications, yet the influence of reagent volume per surface area (V/SA) at low application rates remains poorly quantified.
This study evaluated the erosion behavior of bioslurry-treated beach sand under shear stresses representative of hurricane-scale conditions using the Sediment Erosion Rate Flume (SERF). Three V/SA concentrations were tested: 44, 33, and 22 L/m². Measured erosion parameters were used to characterize performance across the full range of applied estimated stresses (5 Pa –30 Pa). Specimens across all treatments exhibited negligible erosion below the critical threshold of approximately 7 Pa.
Overall, the results showed that effective surface protection can be achieved at V/SA values far below those used in conventional pore-volume (PV) based MICP applications. These findings support the practicality of low-volume, surface-focused bioslurry treatments as a targeted erosion mitigation strategy for dune and berm environments subject to hurricane induced shear stresses.
Suggested Citation
Ishengoma, Dennis, "Evaluating the erosion response of beach sand treated with low-volume surface focused MICP applications" (2025). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1379.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/1379