Investigation of Evaporation and Cracking of Soil Reinforced with Natural and Polypropylene Fibers

ABSTRACT

In this paper, the evaporation and cracking characteristics of soils reinforced with straw and polypropylene fibers are studied. The changes in moisture content during evaporation are measured by using a high precision platform scale and the development of surface cracks is captured with a digital camera. The results are analyzed by using a GIS (Geographic Information System) software and the crack ratio and fractal dimension of the cracks are calculated. The results show that the final average moisture content after evaporation of the soils with straw and polypropylene fibers is increased by 69.90% and 49.75%, respectively, compared with the soil without fibers. The rate of evaporation can be divided into three stages: Stage I: Initially stable; Stage II: Decreases rapidly, and Stage III: Decreases slowly and tends to be stable. The time of the appearance of the first crack in the soil without fibers is earlier than that in the soils with fiber reinforcements. The final crack ratio of the soils with straw and polypropylene fibers is reduced by 6.79% and 14.16% compared to the soil without fibers. Therefore, adding fiber to soil can reduce water evaporation and inhibit cracking which provides a technique for improving soils in arid areas.

摘要

本文研究了秸秆和聚丙烯纤维加固土的蒸发和开裂特性. 使用高精度台秤测量蒸发过程中水分含量的变化, 并使用数码相机捕捉表面裂纹的发展. 利用地理信息系统(GIS) 软件对结果进行了分析, 计算了裂缝的裂缝率和分形维数. 结果表明, 与无纤维土壤相比, 秸秆纤维和聚丙烯纤维土壤蒸发后的最终平均含水量分别增加了69.90%和49.75%. 蒸发速率可分为三个阶段: 第一阶段: 初始稳定; 第二阶段: 快速下降, 第三阶段: 缓慢下降并趋于稳定. 无纤维土中第一道裂缝的出现时间比有纤维增强土早. 与不含纤维的土壤相比, 含有秸秆和聚丙烯纤维的土壤的最终裂缝率分别降低了6.79%和14.16%. 因此, 在土壤中添加纤维可以减少水分蒸发, 抑制裂缝, 为干旱地区的土壤改良提供了一种技术.

KEYWORDS:

• Soil cracks
• natural fibers
• polypropylene fibers
• fractal dimension of cracks
• soil reinforcements
• evaporation

关键词:

• 土壤裂缝
• 天然纤维
• 聚丙烯纤维
• 裂纹的分形维数
• 土壤加固
• 蒸发

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Henan Key Scientific Research Projects of Colleges and Universities of The Education Department of Henan Province under Grant No. 21A410003.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Henan Key Scientific Research Projects of Colleges and Universities of The Education Department of Henan Province [21A410003].