Disintegration Resistance of Steep-Rocky-Slope Wall-Hanging Soil Based on High-Performance Ester Materials

Abstract

Ecological restoration is difficult on the steep rocky slopes (SRS) in rainy areas in South China that experience severe soil erosion. The disintegration resistance of steep-rocky-slope wall-hanging soil (SRSWS) is a crucial topic in the field of new ecological restoration. The formation of a transient saturated zone of wall-hanging soil (WS) under high-intensity rainfall can easily lead to soil disintegration. The subsequent rain erosion can cause the loss of growth substrate required for early plants, resulting in a poor greening effect or even landslides. Therefore, improving the disintegration resistance of WS and ensuring the stability of the early-plant-growth environment are at the core of SRS protection. In this paper, structural and static underwater disintegration tests of red soil modified by high-performance ester materials (HEMs) were carried out. According to the damage ratio of the soil structure and the disintegration rate and disintegration amount of red soil, the structural properties and disintegration resistance of improved red soil were quantitatively measured. The results show that absorbent HEMs generally increased the content of water-stable aggregates (WAs) in red soil. However, when the content was excessively large, it destroyed the WAs and accelerated the overall disintegration rate and amount. Based on the structure and disintegration resistance test of red soil, optimal pro-portions of adhesive HEMs of 10 g·m−3 and absorbent HEMs of 80 g·m−3 were obtained. The optimal proportions obtained from the above experiments showed good adaptability and an improvement effect on the structural properties and disintegration resistance of red soil. This solves the problem of the growth substrate required for early plant disintegration and loss in water. This paper provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the ecological restoration of SRSWS with disintegration resistance. It has guiding significance for the steady progress of greening construction on SRS sites.

Study on Ecological Mini-Aggregations Based on Polymer Composite Materials

“…A description of the development of the utilized red-bed ecological membrane can be found in another paper by our team. The polymer adhesive used was a type of strong water-based nano-adhesive, and the polymer water-retaining material used was a type of water-retaining material with good water absorption and retention performance; both materials will eventually degrade into CO 2 and H 2 O [14,17].…”

“…Bhattarai [11] developed three different types of biodegradable erosion control blankets, all of which can reduce soil erosion to varying degrees. The optimization of planting substrates also plays a crucial role in the slope protection performance of ecological aggregation, where the ratio of planting substrate materials can affect the ecological performance of the ecological aggregation [12][13][14]. Faucette [15] added various fertilizers to planting blankets to enhance the plant growth rate of the blankets and found that using compost and a planting blanket can effectively reduce the soil erosion of the slope and enhance its erosion resistance [16].…”

Experimental Study on Ecological Performance Improvement of Sprayed Planting Concrete Based on the Addition of Polymer Composite Material

“…Polymer adhesive material is often used in dispersions prepared with water, and it has a high viscosity and soil consolidation. The material is also degradable, with a degradation cycle of 24 months (the long-term resistance will be researched next) under natural conditions, and will be degraded into CO 2 and H 2 O without generating any hazardous substances [28][29][30].…”