Effect of Fines Content on Pore Distribution of Sand/Clay Composite Soil

Abstract

Plant sand fixation is the most durable and environmentally friendly sand mitigation measure for windblown sand hazards. For aeolian–sand composite soil, the fines content is the main factor affecting the pore size distribution characteristics and determines the soil water retention characteristics. Sandy soil with uniform particle size was used as the material, low-plasticity clay as a fine particle, and composite soils with different fines content were prepared. The evolution of the pore size distribution of composite soils was quantitatively determined using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance technology, and the influence of the fines content on the pore size distribution was obtained. The results show that as the fines content increases, the pore size first increases and then decreases. The pore size distribution curve gradually changes from a single-peak structure to a double-peak structure and becomes a unimodal structure again. The corresponding dominant pore size of composite soils increases first and then decreases with the increase in the fines content. A critical fine particle content is identified to control the strong local honeycomb pore structure of composite soils, which provides a theoretical basis for the material selection and design of plant sand fixation measures.