Water Sand Research Articles

Novel root zone soil water retention improves production with half the water in arid sands

AbstractUrbanization and industrial competition continue to reduce both farmland and available water for food production. Therefore, a new root zone soil water retention technology was modified to transform highly permeable soils into sustainable agriculture. This long‐term drought avoidance technology was tested in two arid regions of Iraq, an arid country with declining irrigation water supplies. Manually installed U‐shaped impermeable membrane troughs were compared with manually installed thin layers of partially decomposed organic matter. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) variety Dafnis (Syngenta Sweden) and spicy pepper (Capsicum solanaceae L.) crops were spring planted at Najaf and Diyala field sites during a 2‐yr study. Soil water, temperature, and salinity were measured hourly, and compared to crop growth parameters, yields, and irrigation water use efficiency. Combined weights of four tomato and spicy pepper harvests were (P = .05) 15 and 25% greater on sand soils equipped with root zone soil water retaining technology (SWRT) membranes and required 61% less irrigation water than crops grown on locally practiced organic matter‐lined and no water retaining control soils. Spicy pepper production on SWRT membranes (P = .05) increased 30% with concomitant (P = .05) 125% greater irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) than organic matter‐layered and control soils at Diyala.

Estimation of solid concentration in solid–liquid two-phase flow in horizontal pipeline using inverse-problem approach

In this study, an inverse-problem method was applied to estimate the solid concentration in a solid–liquid two-phase flow. An algebraic slip mixture model was introduced to solve the forward problem of solid–liquid convective heat transfer. The time-average conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy, as well as the volume fraction equation were computed in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The solid concentration in the CFD model was controlled using an external program that included the inversion iteration, and an optimal estimation was performed via experimental measurements. Experiments using a fly-ash–water mixture and sand–water mixture with different solid concentrations in a horizontal pipeline were conducted to verify the accuracy of the inverse-problem method. The estimated results were rectified using a method based on the relationship between the estimated results and estimation error; consequently, the accuracy of the corrected inversion results improved significantly. After a verification through experiments, the inverse-problem method was concluded to be feasible for predicting the solid concentration, as the estimation error of the corrected results was within 7% for all experimental samples for a solid concentration of less than 50%. The inverse-problem method is expected to provide accurate predictions of the solid concentration in solid–liquid two-phase flow systems.

Electrical and Mechanical Effects of Carbon Powder in F and C Class Fly Ash Reinforced Mortars

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of carbon powder on the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of fly ash reinforced mortars used as mineral additives. Samples were created by replacing CEM I 42.5 R cement, water and Cen standard sand with 0.5%, 1%, 3% carbon powder by weight. Class F and Class C fly ash were added separately at the rate of 10% and 20% by weight of cement to the formed carbon dust series. 20 different series were created with the reference sample. Electrical resistivity measurements were made to the oven dry and natural humid conditions of the samples that completed their 7,28 and 56 days curing period. The physical properties of the samples were determined and bending and compressive strength tests were made. The results obtained were evaluated and it was observed that with the increase of the carbon dust ratio compared to the reference sample, the electrical conductivity ratio increased, but the conductivity decreased depending on the time. It has been observed that the F class fly ash combination series are more conductive than the C class combination series. It was observed that the compressive and tensile strength values ​​of F and C class fly ash carbon dust free samples increased with time. Carbon dust has been shown to increase compressive strength in fly ashless series. There was an increase in the 56th day reading in the tensile strength. It was observed that F class increased tensile and compressive strength in fly ash and carbon dust combination series. Keywords: Carbon dust, F class fly ash, C class fly ash, Electrical conductivity. DOI: 10.7176/CER/13-2-02 Publication date: April 30 th 2021

Accuracy and Reliability Analysis of Pipe Irrigation Metering Device for Sandy Water Source

Sandy water sources are widely distributed and are important for agricultural development. However, no explicit result has been achieved in the research of the accuracy and reliability of pipeline metering devices as well as flow rate measurement objects (water or water–sand) of different metering devices in the process of pipelines conveying muddy water. In this study, seven kinds of sediment concentration gradients, C0–C6 (0.2–7.19%), and three different flow velocities (1.0 m/s, 1.25 m/s, 1.5 m/s) were set up, and a comparison measuring method was used to compare the flow values of three kinds of metering device (electromagnetic flowmeter, ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter) with a right triangle weir. The accuracy and reliability of the metering device were obtained by analyzing the change law of the relative error between each metering device and the right triangle weir under different flow velocities and different sediment concentrations, and the flow rate measurement objects of each metering device were finally clarified. The relative error between the electromagnetic flowmeter and right triangle weir decreased gradually with the increase in the flow velocity when the sediment concentration was constant. The maximum difference of the relative error between the electromagnetic flowmeter and the right triangle weir was 2.53% when the flow velocity was constant. Additionally, the minimum differences of the relative errors of the ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter were 2.67% and 6.90%, respectively. The measured flow law of the electromagnetic flowmeter was more in line with the measured flow law of the water–sand mixture measured by the right triangle weir. However, the relative errors of water and water–sand measured by the ultrasonic flowmeter and water meter fluctuate greatly, which does not accord with the law of muddy water measured by the right triangle weir. The results showed that the electromagnetic flowmeter has the best reliability among the three metering devices, and the accuracy can be improved by calibration before use or increasing the flow velocity of the pipe network. Under the sand grading used in this study, the electromagnetic flowmeter was recommended to measure the flow rate of pipe irrigation for sandy water sources in this paper.

Numerical Analysis on Reinforcement Range of a Closed Steel Sleeve against Collapse

Before the shield machine begins to excavate, the end of the station structure often requires extensive soil reinforcement to ensure construction safety. Closed steel sleeve can prevent water leakage, sand leakage, and cave door collapse by balancing the water and soil pressure on the tunnel surface, thereby reducing the reinforcement range. In this study, a launching project of a closed steel sleeve is investigated; the Madis GTS finite element analysis software is used to simulate the triple-tube high-pressure jet-grouting pile to reinforce the water-rich sand layer. Soil displacement and stress after opening of the tunnel door are studied in detail at different longitudinal reinforcement lengths and transverse reinforcement scopes. The results show that, as the longitudinal reinforcement length increases, the displacement of the soil shows a decreasing trend, and the greater the length of the reinforced soil, the smaller the reduction in displacement. Furthermore, with the decrease of the lateral reinforcement range, though the soil settlement area has increased, the displacement remains unchanged. However, changing the end reinforcement range has no effect on the soil stress. In general, based on the strength and stability of the soil after the gate is cut out, the reinforcement range of the closed steel sleeve can be appropriately reduced compared to traditional reinforcement methods.

Soil Contamination Assessments from Drilling Fluids and Produced Water Using Combined Field and Laboratory Investigations: A Case Study of Arkansas, USA.

Rotary drilling for oil and natural gas uses drilling fluid for lubrication of the bit, to seal off unstable shale layers, and floating out rock cuttings. Drilling fluid is a water–clay chemical mixture. Produced water is a water–sand chemical mixture. Land farming is a common disposal technique of drilling fluid and produced water. In the land farming process, amendments of fluid are repeatedly applied to the soil surface. Plant growth and soil chemical properties may be altered by additions of drilling fluid, because of alkalinity, salinity, trace elements, and petroleum residue contained in waste. The objective of this study was to determine the change in soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen and carbon, and extractable nutrient levels following the land application of drilling fluid and produced water. The study was a comparison of three plots with similar soil properties and conditions. The three study plots had various levels of drilling fluid and produced water applications. The data show a major difference from field-to-field for EC, Na, and Cl levels. The EC and salt levels increased with additional applications of drilling fluid and produced water. The percent total nitrogen values and plant available P levels were very low in all fields. High EC and salt values, coupled with low N and P levels, would be detrimental to plant growth and development. To successfully vegetate this land-farm site, application of N and P fertilizer would be required. This study help to give a better understanding of practical ways to land-farm drilling fluid and produced water in a fashion that both minimizes environmental issues and is economically feasible in Arkansas. Thus, this research will provide important information for soil contamination management and contributes on understanding of the responses of soil properties to drilling fluid and produced water in the future.

The ability of UHPC prepared with unpurified sea sand and seawater to protect embedded steel against corrosion

Preparing concrete with unpurified sea sand and seawater is of great significance for the construction in coastal areas short of river sand and pure water. However, unpurified sea sand and seawater contain a lot of chloride ions which may cause steel corrosion problems. In this paper, unpurified sea sand and seawater are used to prepare ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), and the potential differences between the steel bars with protective layer thickness of 5mm and 15mm and the Cu/CuSO4 reference electrode under two types of dry-wet cycle and the chloride ion concentrations at different depths from UHPC specimen surface after 40 dry-wet cycles are tested, the UHPC specimens are broken to observe corrosion of embedded steel bars. The results show that UHPC prepared with unpurified sea sand and seawater has good ability to protect embedded steel reinforcement against corrosion under dry-wet cycle conditions in lab.

Research on Wet Regeneration Process of Animal Glue Waste Sand for Foundry

The waste sand can be recycled to reduce the production cost. In this paper, the wet reclamation technology of phosphate modified animal glue used for foundry binder was studied. The results show that: the regeneration process is two times of continuous regeneration, the water sand ratio is 2:2.2, the regeneration time is 6min, the speed is 250rrmin, the ignition loss of the reclaimed sand is 0.30%, the mud removal rate is 82.5%, the average fineness is 51, the tensile strength of the reclaimed sand is 2.59MPa, which is similar to the original sand, and the wet reclamation effect is better.

Pengaruh Dosis Pupuk Organik Cair Tanaman Kacang Hijau (Vigna radiata L.) dan Komposisi Media Tanam terhadap Pertumbuhan Bibit Mindi (Melia azedarach L.)

Combination mindi and mung bean is one of agroforestry in community forest. Mung bean waste is a potential organic material that can be used as liquid organic fertilizer. The research aims to test the effect of different mung bean liquid organic fertilizer doses and several media compositions of the mindi growth. This research used Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two factors. The liquid organic fertilizer of mung bean used several dose, namely 0 ml / liter of water, 200 ml / liter of water, 300 ml / liter of water, and 400 ml / liter of water to each plant. In addition, media compositions that are used, namely: 1. combination of soil, cocopeat and husk, 2. combination of soil, sand, and cocopeat, and 3. combination of soil, sand, and husk. The results showed that treatment of 400 ml liquid organic fertilizer of mung bean per liter of water and combination of cocopeat, soil, and sand produce the best height. Treatment of 300 ml liquid organic fertilizer of mung bean per liter of water and combination of cocopeat, soil, and sand or with mixed media chaff, dirt and sand produce the best diameter.
 Keywords: Liquid organic fertilizer, media composition, Melia azedarach L., mung bean

Using a Dielectric Capacitance Cell to Determine the Dielectric Properties of Pure Sand Artificially Contaminated with Pb, Cd, Fe, and Zn

This paper presents a new method of dielectric capacitance cell as a proposed device for measuring the impedance of pure sand artificially contaminated with four heavy metals. Dielectric constant and loss factor of clean and contaminated sand at various levels were calculated from the measured sand impedances. The advantages and benefits of using the proposed dielectric capacitance cell were its low cost, simple calculation, calibration procedures, portable and lightweight, and easy to modify the electrodes to suit testing in the field. Pure sand was saturated with water artificially polluted in the lab with Pb, Cd, Fe, and Zn at heavy metal contents 0, 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30 mg/kg of sand. The dielectric properties of polluted sand were evaluated at a frequency range from 100 kHz to 1000 kHz. The polluted sand exhibit different dielectric constants and loss factors from the unpolluted sand. The results also indicate that the dielectric constant decreases with increasing pollution level for all heavy metals. This may attribute to the polarization mechanism change with existing heavy metal. The loss factor of sand increases with the increasing pollution level. This may be explained by the increase of ionic conductivity of pore water with heavy metal in the sand. Sand polluted with heavy metal with higher resistivity and density possess a higher dielectric constant and lower loss factor than other polluted metals. Evaluation of the dielectric characteristics of polluted sand could have the potential to monitor heavy metal pollution. Even with promising results obtained with the proposed dielectric device, it is necessary to explore several other factors affecting the measurements such as sand water content, soil texture, and type of soil. Also, testing polluted soil near industrial pollution is needed.

Experimental Study on Deteriorated Performance, Vibration, and Geometry Changes of an Electrical Submersible Pump Under Sand Water Flow Condition

AbstractIn the oil and gas industry, the proppant backflow from fracturing wells severely reduces the lifespan of widely used downhole electrical submersible pumps (ESPs). In field applications, a minimal sand concentration may cause severe damage to ESPs in a short time. In order to resist the three-body abrasive sand wear, flanged tungsten carbide sleeves are used in ESPs. However, the wear-resistant performance of different pump geometry is not well analyzed and understood. Therefore, a 64 h pump erosion and abrasion test was conducted with water at the pump's best efficient flowrate with a sand concentration of 1 wt% to imitate the damage caused by short-term proppant backflow. The test was divided into several periods, after which the pump performance, paint-removal wear pattern, eroded pump geometries, and stage vibration were measured and recorded. The wear-rate on pump stage geometries gradually decreased at the beginning of 8–16 h. Then, the carbide sleeves started to help sustain the pump rotation. As a result, the wear-rate and pump vibration became relatively stable. Therefore, the wear mechanism in the secondary flow region (seal rings and sleeves) is believed to change from abrasive wear to the combined erosive-abrasive wear. The pump overall performance decreased by approximately 10% after the 64 h test. The performance, pump geometry, and vibration data are previous for understanding wear mechanism, predicting failures, improving pump design, and saving the well service cost.

Nanoplastics on the coast exposed to the North Atlantic Gyre: Evidence and traceability

The occurrence of nanoplastics in the environment is now known and presents new threats linked to plastic debris issues. New questions about the formation pathways and life cycle assessment of nanoplastics in continental and marine environments have been raised. In the present study, we focused on the Guadeloupe island coastal system. For the first time, we demonstrated the presence of nanoplastics in sand water extracts (SWEs). We also investigated the potential of rare earth elements (REE) in tracing nanoplastics. Based on the REE patterns of SWEs, beached plastics and modern corals, we demonstrated that nanoplastics are important components in the REE signature of coastal sand (29 to 73%). These original results demonstrate the relevance of developing geochemical tracers for determining the fate of missing plastic litter.

Original

The rapid growth of population, urbanization, economic activities and natural phenomena have affected and simultaneously changed the land use land cover pattern. The main aim of this study is to gain a quantitative understanding of land use land cover changes in Chandauli district from 2000 to 2019. The maximum likelihood supervised classication in ERDAS imagine and ARC GIS software is applied in this study for the preparation of land use land cover maps and analysis of the pattern of land cover through satellite data for the years 2000, 2010 and 2019. The classication of land use land cover is divided into nine major classes i.e. water bodies, sand, cropland, built-up land, fallow land, wasteland, dense forest, open forest and scrub forest. Change detection analysis was also included in this analysis. The general pattern of LULC in this area includes an expansion of Fallow land (18.31 per cent), built-up land (13.43 per cent), open forest and water bodies as well as a reduction in the wasteland (12.59 percent) and dense forest areas in the reference period (2000-2019). The result also indicates that the dominating forest cover exists in southern Chandauli district. The mapping of land use land cover classes is also helpful in the study of change detection and natural resource management.

Determination of Water and Oil in Contaminated Coastal Sand by Low-Field Hydrogen-1 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR)

This study presents a low-field hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) method to accurately determine water and oil in oil-contaminated coastal sand. Rapid, efficient separation of water and oil signals in the overlapping transverse relaxation (T 2) spectra was achieved using a novel approach combining physical (paramagnetic ions Mn2+) and mathematical separation (deconvolution algorithm). High correlation coefficients of 0.998 and 0.982 were obtained between the prepared and NMR determined contents for water and oil together with the maximum errors of 0.84% and 0.54% for the water and oil content separately, which suggests NMR measurement of water and oil contents in oil-contaminated coastal sand is fairly accurate.

Analysis on the Instability of Interlocking Arch Induced by Water–Sand Outburst in Tunnel Lining Cracks

The phenomenon of water–sand outburst often occurs when the tunnel passes through the sand texture layer. In the process of water–sand outburst, the sand bodies of large particles are accumulated above the cracks of the tunnel under the squeezing effect of each other, and the phenomenon of particle arching occurs, thereby forming a stable contact force arch. With the diameter of the tunnel cracks increases, stable contact force arches cannot be formed between the sand particles. In this paper, by analyzing the occurrence mechanism of water–sand outburst disasters, three arrangement models of particles were established when the interlocking arch was formed, and the critical ratio of cracks to particles when the force arch was destroyed was obtained by theoretical derivation. The results show that the critical ratio was only related to the internal friction angle of the sand body itself. When the ratio of cracks to particles does not exceed the critical ratio, a stable contact force arch will be formed, and the continuous water–sand surge will not be induced basically; once the ratio of cracks to particles exceeds the critical ratio, stable contact arches will not be formed. Unstable contact force arch can easily induce water–sand outburst disasters. As the ratio of cracks to particles increased, the damage degree of water–sand outburst disaster increased.

Experimental Investigation of Water–Sand Mixed Fluid Initiation and Migration in Porous Skeleton during Water and Sand Inrush

Water–sand inrush is one of the most serious disasters for mining in China. The evaluation of the occurrence and development of a high-concentration water and sand mixed fluid is an important issue for mining in China. In this study, contraposing to the 3 phases of water–sand inrush, three kinds of experiments are designed for the investigation of initiation, development, and occurrence of the disaster. A new sand–water transport testing system is setup to perform the tests. The results show that there are two key points in the disaster: (1) sand particle incipient motion and (2) porous skeleton structural instability. The incipient motion of sand grains is accompanied with the phenomena of volumetric dilatation and granular fluidization. The critical velocity of the incipient motion of the water–sand mixed fluid is significantly affected by the particle size and external stress. The interaction between water and sand grains is the key factor affecting the motion characteristics of water–sand mixture. When the hydraulic conditions exceed the threshold, the water and sand grains are mutually promoted, and the aquifer skeleton becomes unstable. Furthermore, during the water–sand inrush, the curves of volumetric flow rates of sand and water, respectively, for different samples manifest as two distinct waveforms.

Effect of Low Mixing Speed on the Properties of Prolonged Mixed Concrete

The mixing process of concrete consists of dispersing the constituent ingredients (i.e. cement, admixtures, sand, and gravel) in water to homogeneous and solid product. The properties of the final product depend on mixing parameters such as mixing time and mixing speed. Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) should be mixed for a long time with limited speed until delivered to the working site. This long time depends on long transport distances and traffic conditions. The present study investigated the effects of long mixing time on the properties of concrete without any change in its proportions during the mixing process and the effects of using the chemical admixtures: super plasticizers and retarders on its effectiveness, using a drum batch mixer. It has two directions of rotation: one for mixing concrete and the other for discharging it. This research identified concrete mixtures with local available materials i.e. cement, sand as fine aggregates, dolomite as coarse aggregates, water and chemical admixtures. Mixtures were prepared with the same cement and water content with constant sand to dolomite ratio with different dosages of chemical admixtures. Chemical admixtures were used to keep concrete flow during mixing. Mixtures were prepared with low mixing speed 1rpm for identified long mixing times more than 90 minutes from adding water to other components Slump and compressive tests were used as measurement tools of fresh and hardened concrete Retempering with extra water or chemical admixtures was prevented through mixing, so mixtures were extracted without target slump value. Findings showed that low mixing speeds made mixtures more effective for long times, the exceeding mixing time led to minimize water to cement ratio due to reduction of water content, and there was an inverse relationship between slump flow and compressive strength in case of no re-tempering. Therefore, slump flow of mixtures decreased by time, but on the other hand, compressive strength enhanced i.e. stiffening took place. The present study proved that the properties of the final product depends on mixing parameters such as mixing time and mixing speed, and that Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) would be more effective if mixed for a long time with limited speed until transported to the work site. In addition, chemical admixtures with prolonged mixed concrete should be used to improve workability rather than compressive strength.

Acoustic emission behavior of granular soils with various ground conditions in drained triaxial compression tests

Since the mechanical failure of granular soils is the macro-manifestation of complex internal particle interactions, studying this relevant issue from micro-scale perspective is of fundamental importance. Acoustic Emission (AE) has become a promising approach for this purpose; however, its synthetic and validating study on granular soils with various ground conditions is far from substantive. In an attempt to verify and correlate the relationship between AE behaviors and mechanical behaviors of granular soils with various conditions, results of drained triaxial compression tests along with AE measurements recorded during testing are discussed. These results revealed intrinsically different propagation properties of acoustic waves between saturated and unsaturated/dry sands. The water in saturated sands facilitates acoustic waves to propagate with less attenuation, whereas discontinuities (i.e. particle-particle contacts and particle interfaces with water) in dry/unsaturated sands lead acoustic waves to propagate with larger attenuation. The AE manifestation showed its high sensitivity to different saturation degrees, package densities and confining stress levels, which allows the evaluation of ground conditions to be made by AE. The congruous AE evolution in saturated sands was considered closely related to particle interactions during drained triaxial compression; whereas the changeable AE evolutions in accordance with different failure patterns in dry sands were considered relating to soil structure behaviors.

Geomechanical properties of synthesised clayey rocks in process of high-pressure compression and consolidation

Oil and natural gas reserves have been recognised abundantly in clayey rich rock formations in deep costal reservoirs. It is necessary to understand the sedimentary history of those reservoir rocks to well explore these natural resources. This work designs a group of laboratory experiments to mimic the physical process of the sedimentary clay-rich rock formation. It presents characterisation results of the physical properties of the artificial clayey rocks synthesized from illite clay, quartz sand and brine water by high-pressure consolidation tests. Special focus is given on the effects of illite clay content and high-stress consolidation on the physical properties. Multi-step loaded consolidation experiments were carried out with stress up to 35 MPa on mixtures constituting of the illite clay, quartz sand and brine water with five initial illite clay contents (w=85%, 70%, 55%, 40% and 25%). Compressibility and void ratio were characterised throughout the physical compaction process of the mixtures constituting of five illite clay contents and their water permeability was measured as well. Results show that the applied stress induces a great reduction of clayey rock void ratio. Illite clay contents has a significant influence on the compressibility, void ratio and the permeability of the physically synthesized clayey rocks. There is a critical illite clay content w=70% that induces the minimum void ratio in the physically synthesised clayey rocks. The SEM study indicates, in the high-pressure synthesised clayey rocks with high illite clay contents, the illite clay minerals are located in layers and serve as the material matrix, and the quartz minerals fill in the inter-mineral pores or are embedded in the illite clay matrix. The arrangements of the minerals in microscale originate the structural anisotropy of the high-pressure synthesised clayey rock. The test findings can give an intuitive physical understanding of the deep-buried clayey rock basins in energy reservoirs.

Inter- and intra-annual trend analysis of water level and flow in the middle and lower reaches of the Ganjiang River, China

ABSTRACT The Ganjiang River is the largest tributary of Poyang Lake in China, and its hydrological regime variation greatly affects the utilization of regional water resources and the ecological environment of the lake. In this study, a novel trend analysis method, the Moving Average over Shifting Horizon (MASH), was applied to investigate the inter- and intra-annual trends of flow and water level from 1976 to 2016 at the Xiajiang and the Waizhou hydrological stations in the Ganjiang River. The Significant Change Rate Method (SCRM) was proposed to determine the MASH averaging parameters. The trend analysis results show a statistically significant decrease in water level series throughout the year and the relationship of flow and water level have changed greatly at the Waizhou station. The sediment load reduction, large-scale sand mining and water level decrease of Poyang Lake are identified as the main causes for the water level decrease.