Experimental research on physical properties of saline soil subgrade filler in Chaerhan region

In order to improve the engineering stability of saline soil of high chloride content in the Chaerhan salt lake region, six typical characteristics saline soil samples were selected, and tests on their...     

Strength and stiffness variation of frozen soilsaccording to confinement during freezing

When water between soil particles is frozen, the strength and stiffness behavior of soils significantly change. Thus, numerous experimental studies in the laboratory have been carried out to characterize the strength and stiffness of frozen soils. The goals of this study are to evaluate the strength characteristics of frozen soils, which underwent confinement in freezing and shearing stages, and to estimate the stiffness variation by shear wave velocity during shear phase. The specimens are prepared in a brass cell by mixing sand and silt with 10% degree of saturation at a relative density of 60%. The applied normal stresses as confining stresses are 5, 10, 25 and 50 k Pa. When the temperature of the specimens is lowered up to-5 °C, direct shear tests are carried out. Furthermore, shear waves are continuously measured through bender elements during shearing stage for the investigation of stiffness change. Test results show that shear strength and stiffness are significantly affected by the confining stress in freezing and shearing phases. This study suggests that the strength and stiffness of frozen soils may be dependent on the confining stresses applied during freezing and shearing.     

Influence of fines content on the anti-frost properties of coarse-grained soil

This paper aims to determine the optimal fines content of coarse-grained soil required to simultaneously achieve weaker frost susceptibility and better bearing capacity. We studied the frost susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil by means of frost heaving tests and static triaxial tests, and the results are as follows:(1) the freezing temperature of coarse-grained soil decreased gradually and then leveled off with incremental increases in the percent content of fines; (2) the fines content proved to be an important factor influencing the frost heave susceptibility and strength properties of coarse-grained soil. With incremental increases in the percent content of fines, the frost heave ratio increased gradually and the cohesion function of fines effectively enhanced the shear strength of coarse-grained soil before freeze-thaw, but the frost susceptibility of fines weakened the shear strength of coarse-grained soil after freeze-thaw; (3) with increasing numbers of freeze-thaw cycles,the shear strength of coarse-grained soil decreased and then stabilized after the ninth freeze-thaw cycle, and therefore the mechanical indexes of the ninth freeze-thaw cycle are recommended for the engineering design values; and (4) considering frost susceptibility and strength properties as a whole, the optimal fines content of 5% is recommended for railway subgrade coarse-grained soil fillings in frozen regions.     

Experimental study of the effects of non-uniformly distributed fine soil on mechanical properties of Shenyang–Dandong Railway coarse-grained soil

The stress produced by repeated train loads decreases with increasing railway subgrade bed depth, and slightly weathered coarse particles of subgrade bed fillings can be broken at different levels under continuous load. Thus, the mass of fine soil, with a diameter of not more than 0.075 mm, is different at different depths. Fine soil is also sensitive to frost heave and thaw settlement. In order to study the effects of non-uniformly distributed fine soil on the mechanical properties of coarse-grained soil of the Shenyang-Dandong Railway, triaxial tests were conducted with three types of specimens, undergoing six freeze-thaw cycle numbers(0, 1, 3, 7, 9, 12) and three confining pressures(100, 200, 300 k Pa). The freezing temperature is-5 °C and the thawing temperature is +15 °C. The stress-strain behavior, static strength, resilient modulus, cohesive force and the angle of internal friction were measured for different tested specimens. As a result, the law of static strength and resilient modulus of different specimens following the increase of freeze-thaw cycles under three confining pressures is obtained. The changing law of cohesive force and friction angle of three specimens following the increase of freeze-thaw cycles is also calculated, and the different results of different specimens are also compared.     

Effects of land-use changes on organic carbon in bulk soil and associated physical fractions in China's Horqin Sandy Grassland

The Horqin Sandy Grassland is one of the most seriously desertified areas in China's agro-pastoral ecotone due to its fragile ecology, combined with improper and unsustainable land management. We inves...     

石灰土中秸秆还田降解率及其对土壤肥力的影响

石灰土具有高的有机碳的积累,但营养成分的供给速率偏低,导致土壤贫瘠。本文通过室内模拟实验,研究相同来源玉米秸秆在岩溶土与非岩溶土中的降解情况,对秸秆降解率、土壤理化性质、土壤肥力等进行动态检测,结果表明：（1）总体上岩溶土秸秆降解速率比非岩溶土快。秸秆降解速度最快主要集中在最初60天,之后呈缓慢上升趋势,到98天基本达到平衡。非岩溶土降解峰值出现时间为第42天,岩溶土为第28天,峰值出现时间前者比后者滞后14天。总降解时间持续160天,岩溶土降解率为77%,非岩溶土为75%。（2）秸秆降解期间,土壤pH值前期有下降的趋势,后期慢慢回升,这与秸秆降解过程中不同时期降解产物变化规律相吻合。秸秆还田可以提高土壤肥力,其中速效氮和速效钾含量增加非常明显。（3）与岩溶土相比,全量检测结果显示各肥力指标在非岩溶土含量低,但升幅百分比高;有效态检测结果显示非岩溶土速效磷和速效钾含量高。说明秸秆还田一些营养元素有效态在非岩溶土中更易于释放,而岩溶土由于其土壤质地的特殊性,许多养分被土壤粘土矿物牢固结合,营养元素供给速率慢,但因此也易于养分全量的累积。     

Interplay between an axial channel belt,slope gullies and overbank deposition in the Puchkirchen Formation in the Molasse Basin,Austria

Deep‐water sediments in the Molasse Basin, Austria, were deposited in a narrow foreland basin dominated by a large channel belt located between the steep Alpine fold and thrust belt to the south and the gentler northern slope off the Bohemian Massif. Several gas fields occur outside the channel belt, along the outer bend of a large meander. Accumulation of these overbank sediments reflects a complicated interplay between slope accommodation and debris‐flow and turbidity‐flow interaction within the channel. The tectonically oversteepened northern slope of the basin (ca 2 to 3°) developed a regionally important erosional surface, the Northern Slope Unconformity, which can be traced seismically for >100 km in an east–west direction and >20 km from the channel to the north. The slope preserves numerous gullies sourced from the north that eroded into the channel belt. These gullies were ca 20 km long, <1 km wide and ca 200 m deep. As the channel aggraded, largely inactive and empty gullies served as entry points into the overbank area for turbidity currents within the axial channel. Subsequently, debris‐flow mounds, 7 km wide and >15 km long, plugged and forced the main channel to step abruptly ca 7 km to the south. This resulted in development of an abrupt turn in the channel pathway that propagated to the east and probably played a role in forming a sinuous channel later. As debris‐flow topography was healed, flows spread out onto narrow area between the main channel and northern slope forming a broad fine‐grained apron that serves as the main gas reservoir in this area. This model of the overbank splay formation and the resulting stratigraphic architecture within the confined basin could be applied in modern and ancient systems or for subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs where three‐dimensional seismic‐reflection data is limited. This study elucidates the geomorphology of the oversteepened slope of the under‐riding plate and its effects on the sedimentation.     

Evaluating along‐strike variation using thin‐bedded facies analysis,Upper Cretaceous Ferron Notom Delta,Utah

Thin‐bedded delta‐front and prodelta facies of the Upper Cretaceous Ferron Notom Delta Complex near Hanksville in southern Utah, USA, show significant along‐strike facies variability. Primary initiation processes that form these thin beds include surge‐type turbidity currents, hyperpycnal flows and storm surges. The relative proportion of sedimentary structures generated by each of these depositional processes/events has been calculated from a series of measured sedimentological sections within a single parasequence (PS6–1) which is exposed continuously along depositional strike. For each measured section, sedimentological data including grain size, lithology, bedding thickness, sedimentary structures and ichnological suites have been documented. Parasequence 6–1 shows a strong along‐strike variation with a wave‐dominated environment in the north, passing abruptly into a fluvial‐dominated area, then to an environment with varying degrees of fluvial and wave influence southward, and back to a wave‐dominated environment further to the south‐east. The lateral facies variations integrated with palaeocurrent data indicate that parasequence 6–1 is deposited as a storm‐dominated symmetrical delta with a large river‐dominated bayhead system linked to an updip fluvial feeder valley. This article indicates that it is practical to quantify the relative importance of depositional processes and determine the along‐strike variation within an ancient delta system using thin‐bedded facies analysis. The wide range of vertical stratification and grading sequences present in these event beds also allows construction of conceptual models of deposition from turbidity currents (i.e. surge‐type turbidity currents and hyperpycnal flows) and storm surges, and shows that there are significant interactions and linkages of these often paired processes.     

On the role of the planetary boundary layer in cyclogenesis over the ocean: Research note

Abstract

The importance of boundary‐layer convergence of mass and water vapour on the pressure tendency is studied. Mass convergence tends to fill the low while moisture convergence deepens it, owing to the subsequent release of latent heat. It is estimated that at dew points above about 18°C, the moisture convergence effect becomes dominant; that is, the C1SK mechanism is important at high dew points.     

Preliminary Calibration of GPS Signals and Its Effects on Soil Moisture Estimation

In recent years, Global Navigation Satellite Systems Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is developed to estimate soil moisture content (SMC) as a new remote sensing tool. Signal error of Global Positioning System (GPS) bistatic radar is an important factor that affects the accuracy of SMC estimation. In this paper, two methods of GPS signal calibration involving both the direct and reflected signals are introduced, and a detailed explanation of the theoretical basis for such methods is given. An improved SMC estimation model utilizing calibrated GPS L-band signals is proposed, and the estimation accuracy is validated using the airborne GPS data from the Soil Moisture Experiment in 2002 (SMEX02). We choose 21 sites with soybean and corn in the Walnut Creek region of the US for validation. The sites are divided into three categories according to their vegetation cover: bare soil, mid-vegetation cover (Mid-Veg), and high-vegetation cover (High-Veg). The accuracy of SMC estimation is 11.17% for bare soil and 8.12% for Mid-Veg sites, much better than that of the traditional model. For High-Veg sites, the effect of signal attenuation due to vegetation cover is preliminarily taken into consideration and a linear model related to Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) is adopted to obtain a factor for rectifying the "over-calibration", and the error for High-Veg sites is finally reduced to 3.81%.