Initial Water Research Articles

Influence of pulping conditions on the pulp yield and fiber properties for pulping of spruce chips by deep eutectic solvent

AbstractThe chemical pulping of wood chips using deep eutectic solvents (DES-pulping) has emerged as an alternative technology to conventional pulping in the paper industry, allowing the production of pulp in combination with the recovery of lignin and sugars for valorization. A challenge in the development of this technology is the understanding of how the operating conditions influence the crucial pulp manufacturing parameters such as delignification percentage, pulp yield, and fiber quality. This work is focused on investigating the effect of operating conditions such as cooking temperature, cooking time, liquor-to-wood ratio, initial water content on DES, type of mixing, the addition of a pre-treatment step (pre-impregnation of DES into the wood chips) to cooking process, and DES composition (lactic acid:choline chloride, lactic acid:sodium chloride, and lactic acid:sodium bromide) on the cooking of wood chips by DES. A shortcut quality evaluation parameter (Q), defined as the product of the fiber length and the degree of delignification quantified the quality of the pulping process in a single value, shows values similar to a reference unbleached kraft pulp for cooking at 130 °C in a range of cooking times from 3 to 4.5 h at a L/W of 10:1 by using lactic acid:choline chloride DES. More elaborate property analysis on the fibers showed that several of the the quality-indicating properties of the fibers (coarseness, shape factor, fibril area, and crill index) are comparable with typical sulfite pulping fibers.

Thin layer modeling the drying kinetics of titanium slag under microwave-assisted drying

High moisture content of titanium slag renders it unsuitable for producing titanium dioxide chloride and titanium sponge in industrial settings. Microwave heating were employed to investigate the impact of initial mass, microwave heating power, and initial water content on the drying process of titanium slag. The results demonstrated positive correlation between the average drying rate and these three variables. Titanium slag weighing 30 g, subjected to microwave heating power of 400 W, and possessing water content of 15 %, was fitted using Page, Wang, Singh, Two-term exponential, and Quadratic models. The findings unequivocally supported the superiority of the Page model in elucidating the microwave drying, which can also be extended to encompass other experimental parameters. By utilizing Fick's second law, the effective diffusion coefficient was computed, revealing an increase followed by subsequent decrease concerning initial mass, while increasing in tandem with microwave heating power and initial water content. Correlation analysis between activation energy and microwave power disclosed an activation energy of −9.94 g/W for the drying of titanium slag. This research provides a valuable reference for the drying of materials, facilitating the more efficient employment of microwave technology in drying metallurgical and chemical raw materials.

Enhanced removal of perfluoroalkyl substances using MMO-TiO2 visible light photocatalyst

Exploration of easily produced visible light photocatalysts is still necessary. Thus, this study investigated the catalytic performance of a mixed metal oxide-titanium dioxide (MMO-TiO2) to remove perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a typical and harmful perfluoroalkyl substance, under visible light conditions. Analysis of degradation efficiencies revealed that MMO-TiO2 exhibited a remarkable removal efficiency of 95.99 ± 1.49 %, surpassing other catalysts, including TiO2, ZnAl, MMO, and ZnAl-TiO2. MMO-TiO2, derived from ZnAl-TiO2 calcination, displayed a 5.66-fold higher apparent degradation rate constant (1.07 × 10−2 min−1) compared to ZnAl-TiO2 (1.89 × 10−3 min−1). These materials were characterized via X-ray powder diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance, N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, and field emission-scanning electron microscopy. Results revealed that O2•- radicals play a pivotal role as the predominant species that mediate PFOA removal. Comparative experiments using probe compounds confirmed increased O2•- production during MMO-TiO2 photoreaction under visible light. In addition, this study explored the effect of operational parameters, such as catalyst dose, initial PFOA concentration, solution pH, and water matrices on the photocatalytic removal process. These findings provide insight into the removal of PFOA using MMO-TiO2, highlighting the potential of this visible light catalyst for the eco-friendly removal of persistent organic pollutants in aquatic systems.

Water release from dacitic melts near the glass transition and implications for volcanic eruptions

To get insights in the mechanisms of magma degassing and fragmentation, we performed dehydration experiments at ambient pressure with dacitic glasses containing between 1.42 and 5.28 wt% H2O. The focus was on the degassing behavior in the range of glass transition, i.e., from temperatures 50 K below to 50 K above the glass transition temperature Tg. At each T the duration of the experiments was varied between 5 and 125 h. Water contents and initial water speciation was determined by FTIR spectroscopy. Diffusion depth profiles were measured by Raman spectroscopy. We developed an equation to calculate the total water content along the depth profiles from the ratio of the fundamental OH stretching vibration band at 3550 cm−1 and the T-O-T bending band near 500 cm−1. Glasses with high water content (4.66–5.28 wt%) showed huge alterations, i.e., crack formation below Tg and crystallization at and above Tg, but glasses with water contents up to 2.5 wt% were visually unchanged and suitable for water diffusion analysis.The measured profiles of total water content vs. distance can be fitted well by an error function, assuming that the water content in the glass does not decrease to zero at the surface. However, the apparent water concentration at the surface and the total water diffusivity derived from the error function fitting decrease with increasing duration of the experiment. This clearly shows that degassing of dacitic melts is not a simple out-diffusion mechanism. The model of Coumans et al. (2020) that explicitly considers the kinetics of the interconversion of water species can reproduce the temporal evolution of the total water concentration profiles very well. Our results show the importance of considering explicitly the interconversion kinetics of water species when modelling water diffusion in melts at high viscosities. Due to the slow interconversion of OH groups to much more mobile water molecules, dehydration is much slower in the range of glass transition than predicted by diffusion models based on experiments performed on stable melts at magmatic temperatures.

Enhancement and mechanism of macro-defect free (MDF) gypsum water resistance achieved by hydrophobic modification

Macro-defect free (MDF) gypsum is characterized by high strength and has the potential designed to advanced functionalization materials. However, the application of MDF gypsum is still limited by its poor water resistance. Here, we propose to modify the gypsum surface to hydrophobicity at molecule scale by adding potassium methylsilicate. The compressive strength, softening coefficients, and water absorption were subjected to rigorous testing, while elucidating the underlying mechanisms of water resistance enhancement through micro-structural analysis and organic-inorganic interactions. The results show that when adding 0.25% potassium methylsilicate, the wet compressive strength, softening coefficients are increased by 30.1%, 28%, respectively. And potassium methylsilicate can change the gypsum surface to hydrophobicity, which delaying the initial rapid water absorption stage and decrease both the 2 h and 24 h water absorption. The addition of potassium methylsilicate leads to a reduction in the dried compressive strength, attributed to the decrease in intrinsic dihydrate crystal strength. Upon the introduction of potassium methylsilicate, there is a transformation in gypsum crystal morphology from strip-like to lamellar structures. This alteration is accompanied by the formation of a potassium methylsilicate film coats the surface of gypsum, impeding water-gypsum contact. The potassium methylsilicate film coats on the surface of gypsum, which hinders the contact of water and gypsum.

Precipitation Efficiencies in a Climatology of Southern Ocean Extratropical Cyclones

AbstractPrecipitation efficiency refers to the amount of water that is lost from the atmosphere through precipitation compared to the available water vapor in the atmosphere. This metric plays a critical role in understanding precipitation patterns. However, calculating precipitation efficiency for extratropical cyclones can be challenging because cyclones are dynamic and move through the atmosphere as they evolve. To overcome this challenge, our study uses ERA5 reanalysis data to estimate precipitation efficiencies for 400 Southern Ocean cyclones, with a frame of reference that moves with the individual cyclones. Our findings indicate that at maximum intensity, average precipitation efficiencies reach a maximum of 60%/6 hr near the warm front where ascent rates are the largest. Typically, within 24–36 hr after cyclogenesis, all of the initial water vapor available within 500 km of a cyclone center is lost due to precipitation. However, a cyclone's precipitating phase is prolonged due to local evaporation and moisture flux convergence (MFC), which replenish the moisture lost via precipitation. Close to the cyclone center, MFC provides additional moisture from the environment into which cyclones are traveling. On average, this extends a cyclone's precipitation phase to over 60 hr after cyclogenesis. Thus, while moisture from the genesis location is quickly removed from the cyclone via precipitation, cyclones are replenished by moisture along their track, which doubles the timescale for a cyclone's precipitating phase.

Modeling 4.3 billion years of water history on Phobos

Phobos, one of the Martian moonlets, has been the focus of long-standing scientific investigation, particularly regarding its origin: whether it was formed by a giant impact or a captured asteroid. In this study, we investigate the long-term internal evolution of Phobos over 4.3 billion years using a 3-dimensional thermal diffusion and water transport model, named ASTRA. The model newly implements reflected visible light and infrared radiation from Mars, orbital evolution of Phobos, water vapor adsorption on rock grain surfaces, and suppressed permeability due to the surface dust layer in addition to the previous study, allowing us to simulate different grain sizes of 1, 10, 100, and 1000 μm, adsorption coefficients of 1 and 10 kg m−3, and initial water contents of 0.1, 1 or 10 wt%.Our simulation results revealed that without the water vapor adsorption effect, the water inside Phobos would be lost over several billion years for an initial water content of 0.1 wt%. However, when water vapor adsorption was considered, scenarios emerge in which Phobos could retain water to the present day. In the case of a grain size of around 100 μm, Phobos could still continuously release water flux of 10−4–10−3 g s−1 for an initial water content of 0.1 wt%, and 10−2–1 g s−1 for an initial water content of >1 wt%. Furthermore, our research shows the possibility of subsurface condensed water ice in deep high latitude regions and the formation of a gas torus by escaping water-related molecules. If the future MMX mission can measure the water-related ions near the gas torus of Phobos with much >104 cm−2 s−1, the origin of Phobos is most likely the captured asteroid with an initial water content of >1%. For further detailed analysis, our results emphasize the importance of exploring surface soil parameters through soil sample return by the MMX mission.

Calibrating the STICS soil-crop model to explore the impact of agroforestry parklands on millet growth

ContextAgroforestry systems provide critical benefits for food security and climate change mitigation. Yet, they are complex and heteregoneous sytems hard to optimize. The use of process-based crop models provides an opportunity to understand better the interactions between soil, crop, tree and climate and explore the impact of agroforestry on crop growth, for contrasting crop management. ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to i) calibrate the soil-crop STICS model for pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in order to simulate millet potential growth and impact of water and nitrogen limitations on millet growth in open fields and ii) explore the impacts of the parkland tree Faidherbia albida on millet performance for contrasting N fertilizer inputs. MethodsWe gathered a comprehensive database of 28 agronomically contrasting situations, ranging from near-potential growth to drought- and N-stress, either on-station or in a farmer’s home- or bush-fields. Parameters governing relevant plant and soil processes for grain yield were calibrated in a stepwise procedure. The calibrated model was used to explore the impact on millet growth of the widely reported benefits of Faidherbia albida, namely a minimum reduction in radiation thanks to the peculiar reverse phenology of this tree, improvement of soil water content at the beginning of the growing season and of organic nitrogen in the topsoil. ResultsModel simulations with the calibration dataset were reasonably accurate for aboveground biomass and grain yield. Normalized Root Mean Square Errors (nRMSE) for these variables were 29% and 26%, respectively; model efficiency (EF) was 0.58 for both. The nRMSE ranged from 33% to 53% for Soil Water Content (SWC), plant N uptake, grain number, and leaf-area index (LAI). Model accuracy was lower with the evaluation dataset. In the virtual experiment, millet yield decreased with incoming solar radiation, but only at levels of shading (e.g. below 80% of the radiation obtained with full sun) that do not occur under Faidherbia. The decline was greater when millet was fertilized. Increasing the initial soil water content did not affect simulated millet growth. Simulated millet aboveground biomass and grain yield increased with higher organic nitrogen contents of the topsoil, by 80% when millet was not fertilizer, but only by 25% when millet was fertilized. ImplicationsThis study provides the first set of comprehensively calibrated parameters for applying STICS to pearl millet in open cropland. A virtual experiment with historical climate suggests that the benefits of Faidherbia decrease if farmers intensify crop production by adding more mineral N fertilizer. Hence, precise fertilizer management is recommended in Faidherbia parklands. These results illustrate the benefits of process-based crop modelling for better understanding the functioning of agroforestry systems.

Stability Analysis of Surrounding Rock in Deep Underground Engineering Under Fluid-solid Interaction

The geological environment of deep rock masses is extreme and complex, characterized by typical deep geological features such as high geostress, high permeation water pressure, and high geotemperature. Geological disasters like water and mud inrush, high-intensity rock bursts, and large-volume collapses occur frequently in engineering construction, presenting more complex mechanisms of disaster than shallower rock masses and severely impacting the construction and operational safety of deep underground projects. Utilizing three-dimensional numerical simulation methods, this study investigated the deformation, stress, and plastic zone characteristics of surrounding rock under multi-field coupling conditions during the construction of deep caverns, revealing the stability influencing factors of deep caverns under multi-field coupling. A funnel-shaped precipitation area forms near the excavation surface of the cavern, gradually expanding as the initial pore water pressure increases. The concentration of seepage vectors in the sidewalls and arch feet continues to increase, with local seepage rates reaching 5.1×10^-6. The cavern's crown and sidewalls are particularly sensitive to changes in pore water pressure, with the maximum tensile stress appearing 1 m and 3 m axially along the sidewalls of the cavern. The plastic zone experiences its greatest increase at a water pressure of 4 MPa.

Effects of biochar on the compressibility of soil with high water content

This study investigates the potential utilization of biochar in reclamation fills to improve the compressibility of soil with high water content. Biochar, a recycled carbon-rich biomass commonly used for contaminated soil remediation and carbon sequestration, is examined for its impact on the compression behavior of treated soils. The influence of biochar content, initial water content (w0), and biochar saturation on the compression behavior of biochar-treated soils with high water content is analyzed. The results revealed that the addition of both raw biochar and biochar saturated with water significantly enhances the remolded yield stress (σ′yr) and reduced the void ratio (eyr) at σ′yr. Raw biochar exhibits higher σ′yr and lower eyr values compared to water-saturated biochar, mainly due to its greater water absorbing potential of raw biochar. The variations of σ′yr and eyr induced by biochar can be attributed to the decrease in initial void ratio (e0) and the increase in void ratio at liquid limit (eL), which can be effectively normalized using empirical equation developed for reconstituted soil without biochar. Furthermore, the compression parameters (e*100 and C*c) show a decreasing trend with increasing biochar content and decreasing initial water content. Soil with saturated biochar displays higher e*100 and C*c values in comparison with soil with raw biochar. The changes in e*100 and C*c corresponded well to empirical equations developed for reconstituted soil without biochar, indicating that the compressibility changes induced by biochar depended on variations in physical properties (e0 and eL), following similar patterns observed in reconstituted soils without biochar. Therefore, the compression curve of biochar-treated soil in the postyield regime can be effectively normalized by using void index into the ICL or EICL, suggesting its practical applicability for predicting the compressibility of reclamation soil with biochar. These findings demonstrate that biochar-treated soil with high water content exhibits favorable geotechnical properties, making it suitable for use as soil reclamation fills or in landfill applications.

Effect of Initial Water Content on the Collapsibility of Natural and Cement-Treated Gypseous Soils

Abstract Soils that exhibit high volume change when its water content is changed are considered collapsible soils. Gypseous soils are one of the main types of collapsible soils which can be found in arid and semiarid areas. In this study, the effect of initial water content on the collapsibility properties of natural and treated gypseous soils with 5% of cement is experimentally investigated. The soils tested at different initial moisture content i.e. 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %. Two types of soil were used with different gypsum content 28.43 % and 43.62 % named soil 1 and soil 2 respectively. The soils were taken from Tikrit city in Saladin governorate – Iraq. The results show that the initial water content has significant effect on the collapse potential. The reduction in collapse for natural soils reaches up to 70 % when the initial water content was 20 %. Furthermore, the reduction in collapse for natural soils was greater than that for treated soils with different initial water content. It can be concluded that increasing initial water content can reduce the sudden collapse which is a major problem.

Adjoint Inversion of Near‐Field Pressure Gauge Recordings for Rapid and Accurate Tsunami Source Characterization

AbstractWe explore the potential of the adjoint‐state tsunami inversion method for rapid and accurate near‐field tsunami source characterization using S‐net, an array of ocean bottom pressure gauges. Compared to earthquake‐based methods, this method can obtain more accurate predictions for the initial water elevation of the tsunami source, including potential secondary sources, leading to accurate water height and wave run‐up predictions. Unlike finite‐fault tsunami source inversions, the adjoint method achieves high‐resolution results without requiring densely gridded Green's functions, reducing computation time. However, optimal results require a dense instrument network with sufficient azimuthal coverage. S‐net meets these requirements and reduces data collection time, facilitating the inversion and timely issuance of tsunami warnings. Since the method has not yet been applied to dense, near‐field data, we test it on synthetic waveforms of the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, including triggered secondary sources. The results indicate that with a static source model without noise, using the first 5 min of the waveforms yields a favorable performance with an average accuracy score of 93%, and the largest error of predicted wave amplitudes ranges between −5.6 and 1.9 m. Using the first 20 min, secondary sources were clearly resolved. We also demonstrate the method's applicability using S‐net recordings of the 2016 Mw 6.9 Fukushima earthquake. The findings suggest that lower‐magnitude events require a longer waveform duration for accurate adjoint inversion. Moreover, the estimated stress drop obtained from inverting our obtained tsunami source, assuming uniform slip, aligns with estimations from recent studies.

The rainfall threshold of forest cover for regulating extreme floods in mountainous catchments

Floods frequently occur in mountainous regions and threaten lives and property worldwide. Forest cover usually plays an important role in regulating and preventing floods. However, the rainfall thresholds for forest cover to effectively regulate extreme flood are still unclear. In this study, we developed the topography-based subsurface storm flow hydrological (Top-SSF) model, which generally exhibited precise simulation performances in five typical mountainous catchments in southwest China. Then, the Top-SSF model was combined with a frequency analysis method to set different forest cover scenarios, investigating the relationship between rainfall threshold and forest cover in mountainous catchments. The results showed that under the control of soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and maximum soil water storage capacity (Szm), the rainfall threshold of an extreme flood (the 100-year return period) increased significantly, especially when forest cover was larger than 70% of a catchment. Under the same forest cover, high initial soil water content (Swi) weakened the mitigating effect of forest cover on the extreme flood. In addition, a non-linear regression relationship between forest cover and rainfall threshold of a catchment was developed considering the impacts of Ks, Swi and annual mean precipitation (P¯) of the catchment. The significant impact of forest cover change on extreme floods was not only due to changing the amount of forest cover but also the soil properties. These results contribute to the understanding of the impact of forest cover changes on extreme floods and may provide valuable insights for flood defence in mountainous catchments.

Legacy Phosphorus and Ecosystem Memory Control Future Water Quality in a Eutrophic Lake

AbstractLake water clarity, phytoplankton biomass, and hypolimnetic oxygen concentration are metrics of water quality that are highly degraded in eutrophic systems. Eutrophication is linked to legacy nutrients stored in catchment soils and in lake sediments. Long lags in water quality improvement under scenarios of nutrient load reduction to lakes indicate an apparent ecosystem memory tied to the interactions between water biogeochemistry and lake sediment nutrients. To investigate how nutrient legacies and ecosystem memory control lake water quality dynamics, we coupled nutrient cycling and lake metabolism in a model to recreate long‐term water quality of a eutrophic lake (Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, USA). We modeled long‐term recovery of water quality under scenarios of nutrient load reduction and found that the rates and patterns of water quality improvement depended on changes in phosphorus (P) and organic carbon storage in the water column and sediments. Through scenarios of water quality improvement, we showed that water quality variables have distinct phases of change determined by the turnover rates of storage pools—an initial and rapid water quality improvement due to water column flushing, followed by a much longer and slower improvement as sediment P pools were slowly reduced. Water clarity, phytoplankton biomass, and hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen differed in their time responses. Water clarity and algal biomass improved within years of nutrient reductions, but hypolimnetic oxygen took decades to improve. Even with reduced catchment loading, recovery of Lake Mendota to a mesotrophic state may require decades due to nutrient legacies and long ecosystem memory.

Mechanism of and Prevention Technology for Water Inrush from Coal Seam Floor under Complex Structural Conditions—A Case Study of the Chensilou Mine

Based on the complex hydrogeological conditions of the Chensilou mine, numerical simulations and field validation methods were used to study the mechanism of water inrush from the floor of the coal seam, which has faults and cracks, as well as the regional advanced grouting reinforcement technology during the coal mining process. The evolution laws of the roof stress field, displacement field, crack field, and plastic area are revealed at different mining distances. The coupling mechanism of floor water inrush channel formation under complex conditions is analyzed. Advanced grout filling reinforcement technology in the ground area is proposed, the slurry diffusion law of different grouting layers under different grouting pressures is revealed, and the grouting effect is evaluated, which provides a research basis for selecting a reasonable grouting pressure. Finally, the application of regional advanced grouting reinforcement technology was carried out at the site, and the grouting reconstruction effect was verified by the transient electromagnetic and three-dimensional DC resistivity method. The results show that the apparent resistivity of the floor after the grouting reinforcement is high, and the water yield of the verification borehole is less than 10 m3/h. The area where the three-dimensional direct current resistivity is less than 12 Ω·m only appears in the lower part of the middle of the working face, and there is no water in the verification borehole. Through our underground supplementary treatment and verification process, the initial water inflow meets the requirements of being less than 10 m3/h. It indicates that the ground regional advanced treatment project achieved significant results. The results of our research can also provide references for water hazard control in similar mines.

Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Marine Mud Slurry Treated by Flocculation-Solidification-High Pressure Filtration Combined Method

For the massive quantities and negative impacts of dredged mud slurry, its disposal and utilization have become one of the most noticeable issues in the world. In this paper, the flocculation-solidification-high pressure filtration combined method is proposed to effectively dispose of marine mud slurries. The advantages of this method are demonstrated herein in the following three aspects: dewatering performance, material savings, and the shear strength of the treated marine mud slurry. Then, the effects of the anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) dose, composite solidification agent dose, initial water content of marine mud slurries, and initial thickness of geo-bags on the mechanical properties of the marine mud slurry treated by the flocculation-solidification-high pressure filtration combined method are studied. Experimental results show that with increasing doses of APAM, the structures of mud slurries become more stable, and the optimal dose of APAM is determined as 0.16%. Moreover, the increase in the composite solidification agent dose and initial water content of the marine mud slurry, and the decrease in the initial thickness of geo-bags both contribute to the increase in the shear strength of the marine mud slurry treated by the flocculation-solidification-high pressure filtration combined method.

Simulation and parameter optimization of high moisture rice drying on combine harvester before threshing

Aiming at the problems of conveying, threshing and cleaning devices blockage while harvesting the high moisture by combine harvester, the idea of reusing waste heat of combine harvester to dry rice on machine before threshing was put forward. The surface moisture of rice dried by hot air in cutting header was studied. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupling discrete element method (DEM) simulation experiment based on the quadratic orthogonal rotating center combination test method was performed. The impact of feeding amount, hot air velocity, hot air temperature and initial water content of rice on the rice dehydrator rate was analyzed and the relationship model between them was built. The optimal solution for the rice drying was obtained using the relationship model. A test bench was set up to validate the accuracy of the model. The results demonstrate that each factor significantly influences the dehydration rate with their important order as follows: rice feeding quantity > rice initial moisture content > hot air temperature > hot air velocity; the optimal solution is rice feed quantity of 100 g, hot air velocity of 6 m/s, hot air temperature of 150 °C, initial moisture content of 20% and a maximum dehydrator rate of 1.541%; the validation test confirms that the acquired relationship model exhibits sufficient prediction accuracy with the maximum relative error of 8.5%.

One-part alkali-activated soil stabilization with sodium metasilicate: Mechanical-geochemical-mineralogical characterization

A shift towards environmental sustainability is an emerging trend in the modern construction industry, and soil stabilization is no exception. Environmental and economic constraints associated with traditional cement have led to a renewed research focus, particularly on the development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs), a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable stabilization method. Traditional AAM synthesis involves the activation of industrial byproducts in an alkaline solution, which poses challenges in transporting, storing, and handling large quantities of liquid alkaline activators in the field. To address these challenges and enable the large-scale application of AAM-based soil stabilization, a one-part alkali-activation method is proposed, utilizing a dry powdered alkaline activator. This study aims to evaluate the potential of dry sodium metasilicate (SM), used in conjunction with Class C fly ash, Class F fly ash, and ground granulated blast-furnace slag, to stabilize weak clayey soils with medium-to-high initial moisture content. Towards that end, five stabilizer mixes with and without SM were designed to stabilize natural soil at different initial moisture states. The engineering properties of these blends were assessed through unconfined compressive strength (UCS) testing, and a relationship between the initial water content of the soil, stabilizer dosage, and the desired UCS for the alkali-activated mixtures was developed. Furthermore, the microstructure of these blends was characterized through geochemical and mineralogical analyses, including pH measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imaging. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using dry SM to create one-part AAM, which holds promise for stabilizing weak soils in various transportation infrastructure systems, including roadways, airfield pavements, and railways.

A new approach for characterizing internal stress of fresh concrete during thermal treatment period

Addressing the scarcity of research on the residual expansion deformation of steam-cured concrete and its underlying factors, this study introduces a testing apparatus to characterize the internal stress in fresh concrete during the thermal treatment. It explores the impact of water-to-cement ratio (w/c) and paste-to-aggregate ratio (p/a) on internal stress and elucidates the developmental patterns of internal stress in concrete throughout the thermal treatment phase. The key findings are as follows: (i) During the thermal treatment, the internal stress in concrete under constraint is predominantly compressive, exhibiting a rapid increase in the heating stage, followed by a gradual decline in the constant temperature treatment stage, and a continued decrease with a decelerating trend during the cooling stage. (ii) Both w/c and p/c significantly influence internal stress in concrete, and this stress can be enhanced by reducing the initial free water content and augmenting the initial structural strength of the concrete. This paper serves as a valuable foundation and reference for further investigations into the residual expansion deformation of steam-cured concrete.

Magma-related origin for Pb–Zn–Ag vein formation at the Aerhada deposit, Inner Mongolia, NE China: Constraints from fluid inclusion, C–H–O–S–Pb isotopic compositions, and geochronological studies

The Aerhada Pb–Zn–Ag deposit is on the western margin of the Great Xing’an Range in NE China. Prior studies on this deposit lack information regarding precise mineralization age and convincing genetic interpretation, which limits both the prospecting at Aerhada and the reconstruction of the regional metallogenic evolution. Based on a detailed field investigation and microscopic observation, in this study, our aim was to determine the origin and evolution of the hydrothermal system and the timing of magmatism and mineralization, as well as to develop a possible metallogenic model, by revealing information regarding the mineralization paragenetic relationship, fluid inclusions, H–O–C–S–Pb isotopes, and sphalerite Rb–Sr and zircon U–Pb ages. Three successive mineralization stages were recognized: stage I quartz-arsenopyrite-pyrite, stage II quartz-sphalerite-galena, and stage III fluorite-calcite-pyrite. Four types of fluid inclusions were also identified in host minerals: CH4-rich two-phase, halite-bearing, vapor-rich two-phase, and liquid-rich two-phase. Fluid inclusion and microthermometric results showed that the homogenization temperatures were 287–341 °C for stage I, 237–291 °C for stage II, and 162–230 °C for stage III, with respective salinities of 1.7–40.2 wt%, 6.7–10.9 wt%, and 4.2–8.8 wt% NaCl equivalent. The δ18Ofluid and δDfluid values of quartz in stage I (δ18Ofluid = 8.6–10.3 ‰, δDfluid = -126.6 to −124.3 ‰) indicated that initial magmatic water interacted with organic strata, while decreasing the values of quartz in stage II (δ18Ofluid = 3.9–6.8 ‰, δDfluid = -129.1 to −127.6 ‰) and calcite in stage III (δ18Ofluid = -3.5 to −1.0 ‰, δDfluid = -115.5 to −113.4 ‰), showing a trend of dilution and cooling by meteoric water. The negative δCfluid values (δCfluid = -15.9 to −12.6 ‰) of quartz fluid inclusions from stages I and II emphasize that organic carbon was added to the hydrothermal system through water–rock interactions. The δ34S values (δ34Ssulfides = 1.2–7.5 ‰) and lead isotope data of sulfides (206Pb/204Pb = 18.153–18.684, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.370–15.750, 208Pb/204Pb = 37.653–39.301), coupled with those of the hidden biotite granite and Devonian strata, indicate that the ore-forming material was primarily derived from magma and wall rocks. The sphalerite samples produced a Rb–Sr isochron age of 154.1 ± 3.5 Ma (2σ, MSWD = 0.82, n = 8), which was like the zircon U–Pb age of biotite granite (156.3 ± 1.4 Ma, 2σ, MSWD = 0.89, n = 14). Combining the alteration pattern, fluid inclusions, and isotopic and geochronological studies, it was concluded that Aerhada is a magma-related hydrothermal Pb–Zn deposit formed under the post-collision extension setting following the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean closure during the Late Jurassic period. The proposed metallogenic model is expected to assist in the exploration and development of polymetallic mineralization in the Great Xing’an Range.