open access publication

Article, 2024

Experimental investigation of sandy soil stabilization using chitosan biopolymer

Transportation Geotechnics, ISSN 2214-3912, Volume 46, Page 101266, 10.1016/j.trgeo.2024.101266

Contributors

Tasuji, MohammadReza Amiri [1] Ghadir, Pooria 0000-0002-2928-4153 (Corresponding author) [2] [3] Hosseini, Amin [1] Javadi, Akbar A 0000-0001-8376-4652 [3] Korayem, Asghar Habibnejad 0000-0001-7938-1835 [1] Ranjbar, Navid 0000-0002-1485-3931 (Corresponding author) [4]

Affiliations

  1. [1] Iran University of Science and Technology
  2. [NORA names: Iran; Asia, Middle East];
  3. [2] University of Strathclyde
  4. [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
  5. [3] University of Exeter
  6. [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
  7. [4] Technical University of Denmark
  8. [NORA names: DTU Technical University of Denmark; University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD]

Abstract

The performance of an environmentally friendly biopolymer synthesised from secondary resources to overcome the wind erosion of sandy soil was investigated in this study. The study employed a multi-scale approach to investigate the mechanical, erosional, and hydraulic properties of sandy soil. At the macroscale, experimental techniques such as unconfined and triaxial compression tests, permeability measurements, contact angle assessments, and wind tunnel experiments were utilized to characterize the bulk behavior of the soil. Concurrently, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted at the nanoscale to predict surface mechanical characteristics and elucidate chemical interactions at the molecular level. Results show that when the outer surface of the sandy particles is coated with a sparse concentration of biopolymer, the sandy aerosol inhibitory performance is significant even under extreme storm conditions reaching speeds of 140 km/h of storms. The study on the impact of biopolymer content, curing time, and curing conditions revealed that the addition of chitosan biopolymer has the ability to enhance the bonding between particles and significantly enhance the mechanical properties of sandy soil. The atomic insight from molecular dynamics reveals huge entanglement between sandy particles and biopolymer by Van der Waals interaction. The results of the Unconfined Compressive Strength test indicate that chitosan enhances the compressive strength of sand by up to 320 kPa. Additionally, the triaxial test demonstrated that the application of chitosan led to a 34.2 kPa improvement in the cohesion of sand. Furthermore, analysis of the permeability test results revealed a decrease in the hydraulic conductivity coefficient from 1.6 × 10^-6 m/s to 5.7 × 10^-7 m/s, representing a reduction of approximately 35 %.

Keywords

Unconfined, Van, Waals interactions, analysis, angle assessment, application of chitosan, applications, approach, assessment, atomic insight, behavior, biopolymer content, biopolymers, bonds, characteristics, chemical, chemical interaction, chitosan, chitosan biopolymer, coefficient, cohesion, cohesion of sand, compressive strength, compressive strength of sand, compressive strength test, concentration, concentration of biopolymers, conditions, conductivity coefficient, contact, contact angle assessment, content, cure, curing conditions, curing time, decrease, dynamics, entanglement, experimental investigation, experimental techniques, experiments, hydraulic conductivity coefficient, hydraulic properties, hydraulic properties of sandy soil, impact, improvement, inhibitory performance, insights, interaction, kPa, levels, measurements, mechanical characteristics, mechanical properties, mechanical properties of sandy soil, molecular dynamics, molecular level, multi-scale approach, nanoscale, outer surface, particles, performance, permeability, permeability measurements, permeability test results, properties of sandy soil, reduction, resources, results, sand, sandy particles, sandy soil, sandy soil stabilization, secondary resources, soil, soil stabilization, speed, stability, storm, storm conditions, strength of sand, strength test, study, surface, surface mechanical characteristics, technique, test, test results, time, triaxial tests, tunnel experiments, unconfined compressive strength tests, van der Waals interactions, wind, wind erosion, wind tunnel experiments

Funders

  • Aase og Ejnar Danielsens Fond
  • European Commission
  • The Velux Foundations
  • European Molecular Biology Organization

Data Provider: Digital Science