Study on the Bearing Capacity and Engineering Performance of Aeolian Sand

Jun Cai,Xuesen She,Han Xia,Huangsong Pan,Jingtao Zhang

doi:10.1155/2020/3426280

Jun Cai, Xuesen She + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3426280

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Abstract

The climate in the aeolian desert has great differences from that in other regions, generally showing large diurnal temperature differences and extremely dry and low groundwater level characteristics. Therefore, the physical and mechanical characteristics of the sand are different from those of other regions, and it has a loose soil structure, large pores, and a low bearing capacity. To ensure the security and applicability of engineering, it is necessary to study the engineering characteristics of aeolian sand. This paper focuses on the bearing capacity parameters of aeolian sand in the Mu Us Desert, and test sites in 6 weak foundation areas are selected. Large numbers of basic soil mechanical parameters have been collected through in situ static load tests (SLT) and laboratory confined compaction tests (CCT) to evaluate the effect of foundation treatments. The results show that the characteristics of aeolian sand in the Mu Us Desert include low moisture, poor cohesion, and easy compaction. The mud and water content affect the bearing capacity of aeolian sand. For weak foundations, adding a geogrid or replacing a weak soil layer with stone and aeolian sand can significantly improve the bearing capacity.

Highlights

Aeolian sand is one of the most important types of sand foundations in engineering design, and it is characterized by small size particles, low cohesion, low shear strength, strong permeability, and poor self-stability
Static Load Test (SLT). e static load test is a common test for the foundation bearing capacity, which can be used to determine the allowable bearing capacity of highway foundation soil and bridge culvert soil [22]. e experimental objective is to determine the deformation modulus of soil under the natural occurrence condition with a certain vertical pressure, the deformation of the soil that is dependent on the time, and the estimated bearing capacity when the load is close to the actual foundation condition
To test the treatment effect of the foundation, 2 to 4 points were selected in every test area, and the results are shown in Figure 4. ese data illustrated the low bearing capacity of aeolian sand in the Mu Us Desert and indicated that before construction in those areas, the foundation needs to be treated. e test results are shown in Figure 7, which shows the relationship between the pressure and settlement observed by two types of foundations. e figure indicates that as the vertical stress increased, the settlement increased gradually in every test. is means that the stress will significantly influence the soil deformation

Summary

Introduction

Aeolian sand is one of the most important types of sand foundations in engineering design, and it is characterized by small size particles, low cohesion, low shear strength, strong permeability, and poor self-stability. Khan [7] was the first to study the engineering properties of aeolian sand, conduct geotechnical tests, and chemical analyses on samples from different locations in the Sahara Desert. Al-Sanad [8, 9] carried out classification tests on the compaction characteristics, permeability, compressibility, and shear strength in Kuwait. Zhang [11] studied the compression deformation of aeolian sand and found that the compression deformation was small, the compression amount was exponentially related to the load, and the elastic modulus of aeolian sand was large. Seif [16] found that the percentage of sulfates and chlorides

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Conclusion