Assessment of an amended soil as a climate adaptive barrier: Element testing and physical modelling

IF 3.7 2区工程技术 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment Pub Date : 2025-05-31 DOI:10.1016/j.gete.2025.100693

Aditi Rana , Ashutosh Kumar , Arash Azizi , Ashraf S. Osman , David G. Toll

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of using waste from a drinking water treatment plant (water treatment residue WTR) to amend a natural soil and develop a climate-adaptive barrier layer (CABL) that can limit water migration into underlying layers, thereby mitigating climate risks for geotechnical infrastructure. Experimental results showed adding WTR to silty sand recovered from an active landslide site improved the soil’s engineering properties. In particular, a 5 % WTR amendment significantly enhanced water retention capacity and reduced saturated permeability, thereby improving its overall performance as a protective cover. Following this, a medium-scale physical model was developed to monitor water migration and suction evolution in a soil column with and without a CABL made from the WTR amended soil under atmospheric drying and artificial rainfall conditions. The amendment allowed the soil to store more water compared to unamended silty sand, delaying water infiltration into the underlying layers. Over 250 days of monitoring, the physical model indicated the effectiveness of the CABL in slowing the wetting and drying processes of the underlying soil. The enhanced water retention capacity of the CABL, combined with the contrasting unsaturated permeability values between the CABL and the natural soil, formed a barrier that slowed water infiltration and postponed the breakthrough point. Although the CABL did not entirely prevent breakthrough under simulated rainfall, the observed delay and increased water retention present clear advantage for developing more comprehensive mitigation systems. Vegetating the CABL or using multi-layered systems can enhance water loss through evapotranspiration or drainage, further reducing the risk of breakthrough. The outcome of this study not only contribute to the development of an effective soil cover system but also offers a sustainable pathway for the reuse of water treatment waste.

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作为气候适应性屏障的改良土壤的评估：元素测试和物理模型

本文证明了利用饮用水处理厂的废物（水处理残渣WTR）来修正天然土壤和开发气候适应屏障层（CABL）的有效性，该屏障层可以限制水向下层的迁移，从而减轻岩土基础设施的气候风险。试验结果表明，在活动滑坡现场回收的粉质砂中添加WTR改善了土的工程性能。特别是，5 % WTR的修正显著提高了保水能力，降低了饱和渗透率，从而提高了其作为保护层的整体性能。在此基础上，建立了一个中等尺度的物理模型，用于监测在大气干燥和人工降雨条件下，由WTR修正的土壤制成的有和没有CABL的土柱中的水分迁移和吸力演变。与未经改良的粉砂相比，改良后的土壤可以储存更多的水，从而延缓了水渗入下层的时间。在250多天的监测中，物理模型表明CABL在减缓下垫土湿润和干燥过程方面的有效性。CABL保水能力的增强，加上CABL与天然土壤非饱和渗透率的对比，形成了减缓水渗透的屏障，推迟了突破点。虽然在模拟降雨条件下，CABL并不能完全防止突破，但观察到的延迟和增加的保水性为开发更全面的减缓系统提供了明显的优势。在电缆电缆上种植植被或使用多层系统可以通过蒸发蒸腾或排水增加水分损失，进一步降低突破的风险。本研究结果不仅有助于开发有效的土壤覆盖系统，而且为水处理废弃物的再利用提供了可持续的途径。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

11.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： The aim of the Journal is to publish research results of the highest quality and of lasting importance on the subject of geomechanics, with the focus on applications to geological energy production and storage, and the interaction of soils and rocks with the natural and engineered environment. Special attention is given to concepts and developments of new energy geotechnologies that comprise intrinsic mechanisms protecting the environment against a potential engineering induced damage, hence warranting sustainable usage of energy resources. The scope of the journal is broad, including fundamental concepts in geomechanics and mechanics of porous media, the experiments and analysis of novel phenomena and applications. Of special interest are issues resulting from coupling of particular physics, chemistry and biology of external forcings, as well as of pore fluid/gas and minerals to the solid mechanics of the medium skeleton and pore fluid mechanics. The multi-scale and inter-scale interactions between the phenomena and the behavior representations are also of particular interest. Contributions to general theoretical approach to these issues, but of potential reference to geomechanics in its context of energy and the environment are also most welcome.