Research on the Anti-Erosion Capacity of Aeolian Sand Solidified with Enzyme Mineralization and Fiber Reinforcement Under Ultraviolet Erosion and Freeze–Thaw Erosion
Aeolian sand is susceptible to wind and water erosion, which seriously restricts the ecological restoration and sustainable development in desert areas. Traditional solidification methods have characteristics of high cost, easy pollution, and unstable solidification. Enzyme-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (EICP) is an emerging method that has advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and durability, and, especially when coupled with fiber reinforcement (FR), it can significantly prevent brittle fracture. In this paper, ultraviolet (UV) erosion and freeze–thaw (FT) erosion tests were conducted to investigate the anti-erosion capacity of aeolian sand solidified by EICP and basalt fiber reinforcement (BFR) or wool fiber reinforcement (WFR). According to the analysis of the variation laws of sample appearance, quality losses, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) during the UV and FT erosion process, the erosion mechanism was revealed, and the UCS models considering the damage effects were established. The research results indicated that the UCS of aeolian sand solidified by MICP and FR was significantly improved under UV and FT erosion. The strength loss rates of aeolian sand solidified by EICP, EICP–BFR, and EICP–WFR reached 45.4%, 46.6%, and 51.6%, respectively, under 90 h UV erosion. When the FT cycles reached 8, the strength loss rate of aeolian sand solidified by EICP, EICP–BFR, and EICP–WFR attained 41.0%, 49.2%, and 55.8%, respectively. The determination coefficients of the UCS models were all greater than 0.876, indicating that the experimental results were in good agreement with the predicted results, verifying the reliability of the established models. The research results can offer reference values for windproof and sand fixation in desert areas.
Authors
- Jing Qu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5718-1242)
- Jinli Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6188-9750)
- Jia Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2392-6629)
- Gang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8529-0896)
- Qinchen Zhu
Institutions
- Dalian University of Technology (CN)
- Xijing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Sustainability
- Published
- 2025-05-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115053
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.80
Funders
- Education Department of Shaanxi Province
- Xijing University