Material Selection for the Hydrophobic Cushion Layer Applied to Earthen Sites in Northwest China

ABSTRACT

Earthen sites with important historical, cultural, artistic, social, and scientific values have been seriously damaged. Basal erosion, which is caused by soluble salts, water runoff, and sand-driving wind, is an extremely threatening erosion pattern for earthen sites. A cushion layer which has a damp-proofing function and good physical and mechanical properties can effectively decrease basal erosion. The primary aim of this study is to investigate material selection for the hydrophobic cushion layer for earthen sites in northwest China. The results indicate that cooked tung oil and sticky rice liquid, traditionally used in China, cannot meet the fundamental requirements of sufficient hydrophobicity for the cushion layer. Although polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution and tung oil exhibit similar properties in terms of soil hydrophobicity, water vapour permeability, water resistance, surface hardness, and colour difference for samples with 0.0-1.0% content, the PVA solution is significantly better than tung oil in unconfined compressive strength, deformation modulus, wave velocity, and viscosity. Therefore, the PVA solution should be preferentially selected as a hydrophobic cushion layer material according to the results of this work. When the mixing method is adopted, 0.6-1.0% PVA content is the best choice.

KEYWORDS:

• Earthen site
• colour difference
• hydrophobicity
• unconfined compressive strength
• water vapor permeability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities No. lzujbky-2021-it30, National Key R&D Program of China, No. 2020YFC1522200, and the State Scholarship Fund from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) No. 202006180076.