Disintegration Characteristics of Remolded Granite Residual Soil with Different Moisture Contents

Yicheng Chen, Xiaowen Zhou (), Xiaotao Ai, Mi Zhou, Yu Zhao and Zexin Lan
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Yicheng Chen: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xiaowen Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xiaotao Ai: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Mi Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yu Zhao: China Railway South Dongguan Investment Co., Ltd., China Railway South Investment Group Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523037, China
Zexin Lan: Guangdong Basic Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510640, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Granite residual soil (GRS) has prominent disintegration characteristics which have induced various geological disasters and engineering problems. The initial moisture content is believed to affect the disintegration of GRS significantly. To explore the effects of the initial moisture content on the soil disintegration characteristics and disintegration mechanism, disintegration tests were performed on remolded GRS with different initial moisture contents via the balance method, and the quantitative disintegration indices were corrected, considering the effects of water-absorption weight gain, in combination with a parallel water-absorption test. The disintegration characteristics and mechanism were thoroughly investigated, starting with the disintegration process curves and disintegration morphology, and combined with strength theory, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), the matric suction test, and the triaxial shear test. The results are as follows. (1) The corrected method improves the accuracy of the quantitative disintegration evaluation. (2) During the two disintegration stages, the forms of disintegration are dispersive fragmentation and progressive or block separation, and the soil matric suction and weakening of intergranular joining forces, respectively, are the drivers of disintegration. The first stage is usually completed within 1.5–2 min, and the disintegration ratio is usually within 20%. (3) The trends of change within the disintegration during the two stages show opposite water-content-dependent modes, and the soil samples with lower moisture contents have better water stability and slower disintegration in the second stage. The average disintegration rate of the soil with a moisture content of 24.4% in the first and second stages was approximately 1/5 and 13 times, respectively, that of the soil with a moisture content of 6.1%; these values can be rendered as 0.049%/s and 0.82%/s, respectively. The results provide some theoretical references for soil and water conservation and engineering applications in the GRS field.

Keywords: disintegration characteristics; disintegration mechanism; granite residual soil; moisture content; corrected method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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