An Experimental Study on Clay and Sand Mixes to Develop a Non-Linear Homogenized Model for Earth Construction Materials

Due to its ecological interest and large availability, a renewed attention is paid to earth as building material. Indeed, raw earth consumes CO2 only during its processing and transportation, and it provides a natural hygrothermal comfort. However, its mechanical properties are highly linked to its composition, which causes an important variability of performances. That is why any soil has to be characterized before being used as a building material. The aim of this study is to propose a model able to predict the hydromechanical behavior of a reconstituted soil according to its composition. As earth is a heterogeneous material, the model is based on homogenization procedures. The sand is considered as spherical inclusions inside a clay matrix. The particularity of the model stands to consider both positive and negative effects of volume variation and mechanical properties of clay under hydric variations. The model parameters are determined according to an original experimental campaign, which is conducted on various mixes of a single type of clay (kaolinite) and of sand, and water. The experimental study provides some mechanical properties of the mixes versus water content and sand content to test the ability of the homogenization model to assess the main properties of this material.

Treatment of clay soil with paper ash

The mineralogy of fine soils such as clays has always posed problems and remains an uncontrollable phenomenon in the presence of water and causes destructible damage throughout the world. In order to minimize the cost of implementation, it is necessary to find practical and less expensive solutions to ensure the stabilization of these soils by the valorisation of local waste available in nature. This article concerns an experimental study on the treatment of reconstituted soil by the addition of paper ash of different proportions on a set of standardized tests, the preliminary results show that the paper ash to the clay soil improves its swelling potential, its plasticity, its compaction characteristics, and its shear strength parameters.

Components of Soil Respiration and Its Temperature Sensitivity in Four Reconstructed Soils

seasonal changes characteristics in the respiration of four reconstructed soils Abstract: seasonal changes characteristics in the respiration of four reconstructed soil masses 9 in a barren gravel land were monitored using soil carbon flux measurement system. The 10 results showed that (1) The seasonal changes in soil respiration and heterotrophic respiration 11 of four reconstructed soils of meteorite, shale, sand and soft rock were the same as the 12 seasonal change in soil temperature. Soil respiration and heterotrophic respiration increased 13 with soil temperature. It was gradually increasing, reaching the maximum in summer and 14 decreasing to the minimum in winter. Among the four reconstructed soils, the average annual 15 soil respiration of reconstructed soil with sand was 4.87 μmol•m –2 •s –1 , which was 16 significantly higher than the other reconstructed soils (p<0.05).(2) The autotrophic respiration 17 of four reconstructed soils showed obvious seasonal dynamic changes. The maximum and 18 minimum values appeared in August 2018 and January 2018, respectively. In the whole year, 19 The variation range of the annual average soil autotrophic respiration in the total respiration 20 of the reconstituted soil with addtion of meteorite, shale, sand and soft rock were 12.5-38.0%, 21 9.5-42.0%, 7.7-41.2%, and 5.0-39.3%, respectively.(3) Soil temperature was the main factor 22 affecting soil respiration. The four reconstructed respiration had a very significant correlation 23 with soil temperature (p<0.01). The relationship between reconstructed soils respiration and 24 soil temperature can be indexed function characterization. The 90% to 93% changes in soil 25 respiration of reconstructed soils were caused by soil temperature. The order of Q 10 in soils 26 respiration of four reconstructed was as follows: Sand> shale> soft rock > meteorite.

Comparison of Nanomaterials with Other Unconventional Materials Used as Additives for Soil Improvement in the Context of Sustainable Development: A Review

Since the concept of sustainable development enjoys popular support in the 21st century, various kinds of unconventional materials were introduced for soil improvement in the past few decades to replace the traditional materials like concrete and lime. This paper compared nanomaterials with other three kinds of representative unconventional materials to demonstrate its superiority in soil treatment. The other three kinds of unconventional materials include microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP), recycled tire and environmental fiber. Nanomaterial and MICP have a comprehensive effect on soil reinforcement, since they can improve shear strength, adjust permeability, resist liquefaction and purify the environment. Recycled tire and environmental fibers are granular materials that are mostly adopted to reinforce reconstituted soil. The reinforcement mechanisms and effects of these four kinds of unconventional materials are discussed in detail, and their price/performance ratios are calculated to make an evaluation about their market application prospects. It can be seen that nanomaterials have promising prospects. Colloidal silica, bentonite and laponite present a satisfactory effect on liquefaction mitigation for sandy foundation, and carbon nanotube has an aptitude for unconfined compressive strength improvement. Among the investigated nanomaterials, colloidal silica is the closest to scale market application. Despite the advantages of nanomaterials adopted as additives for soil improvement, they are known for unwanted interactions with different biological objects at the cell level. Nevertheless, research on nanomaterials that are adopted for soil improvement are very promising and can intensify the relationship between sustainable development and geotechnical engineering through innovative techniques.

Parameter variability of undrained shear strength and strain using a database of reconstituted soil tests

During construction, the mobilization of undrained shear strength must be limited to avoid soil failure. Soil strains must be controlled to avoid compromising structural serviceability. To assess foundation performance by strength mobilization, an understanding of soil strains at various levels of strength mobilization is required. In practice, ground investigation data are often limited, and assessment of the expected variation of stress–strain and undrained shear strength is improved with empirical correlations calibrated with a database. The new database RFG/TXCU-278 contains data of 278 consolidated–undrained triaxial tests on reconstituted fine-grained soil samples compiled from the literature. Analysis of the database to evaluate the variability of undrained strength ratio (cu/[Formula: see text]) and a reference shear strain with shear mode is undertaken in this paper. The new database provides evidence that shear strain (like undrained shear strength) is sensitive to the consolidation (isotropic or K0) and shear mode (triaxial compression or extension) applied in the test. For the materials included in the database, the strength mobilization parameters obtained from a triaxial compression test can be used to predict the corresponding triaxial extension parameters to a reasonable accuracy.

Cyclic resistance of a decomposed granite

An important issue surrounding the identification of liquefaction susceptibility using laboratory testing is how well the soil sample being tested represents the soil in the field. Undisturbed samples are difficult and costly to obtain, while reconstituted soil samples must have a structure and fabric that represents in situ conditions as closely as possible. Recent laboratory tests on sand samples revealed that liquefaction resistance is strongly affected by the sample preparation technique, as different techniques result in different fabrics and structures. The same may be true for silty sand samples, although they have not been given the same research attention. Thus, this paper presents cyclic triaxial test results on non-plastic silty sand samples (a decomposed granite) and determines the number of cycles required to cause liquefaction, considering different failure criterion as well as different confining pressures, cyclic strength ratios and sample preparation techniques. The techniques include dry and slurry deposition. The experimental results show that the preparation technique does not have a significant influence on cyclic resistance.

Test on The Effects of Reconstituted Soil on Emergency Speed and Root Growth in Maize

Summary Reconstitution is a pedotechnique to counter land degradation and desertification. The reconstitution, patented by the research laboratory m.c.m. Ecosistemi, applies chemical-mechanical actions to a mixture of degraded soil and matrices (such as waste sludge) in order to produce reconstituted soil, a very high fertility soil. This paper is about a pot study in a greenhouse to investigate how reconstituted soil affects emergence speed and seminal roots development of Zea mays L. seedlings, in comparison with a Technosol. 200 seedlings are monitored up to the 16th day after the seeding. The emergence percentage is 98% on reconstituted soil and 91% on Technosol. Average length and weight of fresh seminal roots are higher on reconstituted soil.

Compression behavior of reconstituted clay: A study on black clay

The soft and black clay found in the Kathmandu Valley is locally known as Kalomato which is highly compressible and weak. The Kalomato from the Khasibazaar is taken as study material. Experimental study is carried out on undisturbed, remoulded and reconstituted soil samples to determine the compression behavior. The study revealed that the undisturbed soil sample has the highest compression index among all samples while the remolded sample has the lowest compression index. The reconstituted soil sample using cement shows that the compression index increases with the increase in cement content while decrease with the increase in curing time. When cement content increases to 15%, the load required to compress the soil to the equal void ratio also increases to almost three times of the undisturbed soil and seven times of the remoulded soil. Therefore, reconstitution of soil using cement is found as effective method for improvement of compression behaviour. This study also has established graphical interrelations between the compression index, swelling index and the cement content which can be used in the study of Kalomato.