Abstract
This paper studies the changes in the loss on ignition (LOI), total nitrogen content (TN), and strain in a one-dimensional consolidation test on peat soil. The effects of small-range fluctuations in the ambient temperature and changes in the sample height on the consolidation process of peat soil are proposed and verify the inhibitory effect of thymol on the decomposition of organic matter. The results show that when the ambient temperature fluctuates in a small range, the consolidation rate is significantly affected. Under a low load, the ambient temperature increases by 1–2 °C, and the consolidation rate can be increased by up to 10 times. This study presents the changes in loss on ignition (LOI) and total nitrogen content (TN) during consolidation, which proves that soaking the samples with a thymol solution can effectively control the decomposition of organic matter in peat soil. The strain of peat soil at a height of 30 mm is greater than or equal to that of other height samples, while that of mucky soil is 20 mm. Therefore, 30mm is the recommended sample height for peat soil for the one-dimensional consolidation test.
Highlights
Peat soil is a loose, water-rich accumulation that us formed from organic matter that has been deposited in swamp lakes after plant death [1] and accounts for ~5–8% of the total area of the Earth [2]
At the load of 12.5 kPa, when the ambient temperature increased by 1.7 ◦C, the consolidation rate increased from 1 × 10–3 to 1 × 10–2 mm/h, where there was a ten-fold increase in the consolidation rate
This study investigated the influence of temperature, biological oxidation, and sample height on the one-dimensional consolidation characteristics of peat soil under different load levels
Summary
Peat soil is a loose, water-rich accumulation that us formed from organic matter that has been deposited in swamp lakes after plant death [1] and accounts for ~5–8% of the total area of the Earth [2]. The content of organic matter in peat soil is generally more than 10%, with some having an organic matter content as high as 98%. Peat soil features a high water content, a large pore ratio, high compressibility, low strength, strong rheology, and compressibility that is 5–20 times higher than that of common soft clay [5,6]. A peat soil foundation can encounter several problems, such as a large amount of settlement and long settlement times [7]. A highway in Miyazaki County, Japan, that is built on a foundation with a peat soil layer has more than 11 m, of settlement, as measured over four years [9]. After five years of operation, the accumulated settlement of the peat soil foundation under an expressway in Yunnan Province is 1.3 m, and settlement is still rapidly developing
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