Abstract
The arid and cold climatic conditions in northwest China are favorable for the preservation of ancient adobe buildings, but intense freeze–thaw and wind erosion have resulted in the collapse of many of these unique structures. Simulation experiments indicated that when the number of freezing–thawing cycles was the same, wind erosion intensity increased with increasing moisture content in soil and that under the same moisture content condition, wind erosion rates significantly increased with increasing number of freezing–thawing cycle. Wind tunnel experiments showed that the application of 5% lithium silicate and 10% potassium silicate significantly improved resistance to wind erosion and hence may be a valuable part of the protection of ancient adobe buildings in the harsh natural environments of northwest China.
Résumé
Les conditions d’aridité et de froidure du nord-ouest de la Chine sont favorables à la préservation des structures anciennes en pisé. Cependant le gel-dégel et l’érosion éolienne conduisent à l’effondrement de certaines d’entre elles. Des expérimentations ont montré que, à nombre de cycles de gel-dégel identique, l’intensité de l’érosion éolienne augmentait avec l’humidité du sol et que, à humidité donnée du sol, le taux d’érosion éolienne augmentait avec le nombre de cycles de gel-dégel. Des expériences en galerie ont montré que l’adjonction de silicates de lithium et de silicates de potassium permettait d’améliorer notablement la résistance à l’érosion éolienne et de ce fait pouvait contribuer valablement à la protection de ces strutures anciennes et uniques en pisé dans l’environnement agressif du nord-ouest de la Chine.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (40501066) and the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX3-SW-341). The authors are grateful to anonymous referees for their invaluable suggestions for improving the manuscript.
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Qu, JJ., Cheng, GD., Zhang, KC. et al. An experimental study of the mechanisms of freeze/thaw and wind erosion of ancient adobe buildings in northwest China. Bull Eng Geol Environ 66, 153–159 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-006-0040-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-006-0040-7