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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Geohazards and Georisks
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2024.1452449
This article is part of the Research Topic Monitoring, Early Warning and Mitigation of Natural and Engineered Slopes – Volume IV View all 12 articles

Investigating the Internal Erosion Behavior and Microscopic Mechanisms of Chemically Stabilized Soil: An Experimental Study

Provisionally accepted
Buping Zhang Buping Zhang 1Xinghua Zhu Xinghua Zhu 1,2*Xuewen Tao Xuewen Tao 3*Mengkui Wang Mengkui Wang 1*Aamir Asghar Aamir Asghar 4*Guoliang Mi Guoliang Mi 1*
  • 1 Chang’an University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
  • 2 Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Western China's Mineral Resources and Geological Engineering, Xi'an, China
  • 3 Independent researcher, Hangzhou, China
  • 4 Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract：Internal erosion triggered by water pipeline leaks seriously threatens the stability of the urban ground.Hangzhou, a city in Zhejiang Province, China, is facing critical challenges due to urban-ground collapse (UGC) caused by internal erosion. However, there is a lack of research on the prevention of UGC by improving the internal erodibility of underground soil. Addressing this issue is of utmost importance to ensure the city's stability and safety. This paper proposes to improve the internal erodibility of typical sandy silt soils with chemical stabilisers. The effects of three chemical stabilisers, lignosulphonate (LS), lime (LI), and lignin fibre (LF), on the critical shear stress (τc) and erosion coefficient (kd) of sandy silt soils were investigated , which from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, by the hole erosion test (HET) at different mixing amounts and at different conservation times. The findings indicate that LF mainly improves the erosion resistance of sandy silt by increasing τc , and the maximum increase is 2.38 times; LI mainly improves the erosion resistance by decreasing kd , and the maximum decrease is 2.18 times. After adding LS, τc and kd did not change significantly. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) test revealed that the inclusion of LF led to the formation of larger agglomerates in the sandy silt soil. The microstructure of sandy silt soil remained dispersed even after adding LS. Various chemical stabilisers used to improve sandy silt soils exhibited distinct erosion mechanisms. Sandy silt soils improved with LF exfoliated into agglomerates, displaying high resistance to erosion. On the other hand, the sandy silt treated with LF still lacks a protective layer and shows minimal improvements in its ability to withstand erosion. In contrast, the LSamended sandy silt remains stripped with individual soil particles with insignificant changes in erosion resistance. This study can provide a conceptual framework for choosing foundation treatment techniques in future urban development projects.

    Keywords: Sandy silt, Chemical stabilisers, Internal erosion, Hole erosion test(HET), Urban ground collapse (UGC)

    Received: 20 Jun 2024; Accepted: 09 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Zhu, Tao, Wang, Asghar and Mi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xinghua Zhu, Chang’an University, Xi'an, 710064, Shaanxi, China
    Xuewen Tao, Independent researcher, Hangzhou, China
    Mengkui Wang, Chang’an University, Xi'an, 710064, Shaanxi, China
    Aamir Asghar, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
    Guoliang Mi, Chang’an University, Xi'an, 710064, Shaanxi, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.