The containment of toxic materials already buried in the ground and the construction of new disposal sites are difficult tasks. In both cases, there is the need for vertical and horizontal barrier walls in the ground that are known to be difficult and expensive to construct with currently available technologies. Fluidyne proposes to construct such barrier walls with a novel one-step process that involves the use of high-pressure water Jets and simultaneous injection of cement powder and other additives to generate slurry Jets. The slurry Jet or Jets are manipulated in the ground by moving the nozzle in a prescribed manner so as to create cavities of desired geometries. The slurry Jet will be thoroughly mixed with the soil materials and left to solidify after a prescribed time period. By virtue of the demonstrated material cutting capabilities of slurry Jets generated with Fluidyne's proprietary nozzles, the creation of cavities in the ground can be assured and the deposition of cement grout can be controlled with precision that was heretofore sible. The proposed program is expected to yield results that show the unique capabilities of Fluidyne's abrasive waterjet technology. The results are expected to demmetrate that the technology has the potential to create in-situ formation of barrier walls in the ground for containing buried wastes. When successfully developed, the process will have marw commercial applications in soil stabilimtion, underground water control, foundation construction and maintenance, shoring, and excavation.
