Eine Plattform für die Wissenschaft: Bauingenieurwesen, Architektur und Urbanistik
Eine Plattform für die Wissenschaft: Bauingenieurwesen, Architektur und Urbanistik
Geotechnical insights of mammal burrows in loose desert sand
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1946-4951
Loose desert sand poses a constraint for geotechnical engineers to construct tunnels without a lining, which is typically steel, concrete, or slurry shield. Many desert mammals, however, can construct tunnels in loose sand, and the tunnels can remain stable over extended periods of time in harsh desert environments. This study presents the state of knowledge on mammal burrows in loose desert sand and provides insights from a geotechnical engineering perspective with the aim of understanding how desert mammals tackle a geotechnical challenge. The study presents these desert mammals as biogeotechnical engineers and explains their burrow stability using three fundamental soil mechanics principles: (i) unsaturated soil mechanics, (ii) compaction, and (iii) soil cementation. Damara mole-rats, kangaroo rats, pocket gophers, and round-tailed ground squirrels are presented as the desert biogeotechnical engineers. Proof-of-concept experiments conducted with a poorly graded fine sand demonstrate the effects of the fundamental soil mechanics principles used by the animals on soil strength. A limit equilibrium tunnel stability analysis performed using sand from a kangaroo rat habitat in the Sonoran Desert also demonstrated the link between tunnel stability of desert mammals and the three geotechnical principles.
Geotechnical insights of mammal burrows in loose desert sand
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1946-4951
Loose desert sand poses a constraint for geotechnical engineers to construct tunnels without a lining, which is typically steel, concrete, or slurry shield. Many desert mammals, however, can construct tunnels in loose sand, and the tunnels can remain stable over extended periods of time in harsh desert environments. This study presents the state of knowledge on mammal burrows in loose desert sand and provides insights from a geotechnical engineering perspective with the aim of understanding how desert mammals tackle a geotechnical challenge. The study presents these desert mammals as biogeotechnical engineers and explains their burrow stability using three fundamental soil mechanics principles: (i) unsaturated soil mechanics, (ii) compaction, and (iii) soil cementation. Damara mole-rats, kangaroo rats, pocket gophers, and round-tailed ground squirrels are presented as the desert biogeotechnical engineers. Proof-of-concept experiments conducted with a poorly graded fine sand demonstrate the effects of the fundamental soil mechanics principles used by the animals on soil strength. A limit equilibrium tunnel stability analysis performed using sand from a kangaroo rat habitat in the Sonoran Desert also demonstrated the link between tunnel stability of desert mammals and the three geotechnical principles.
Geotechnical insights of mammal burrows in loose desert sand
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1946-4951
Loose desert sand poses a constraint for geotechnical engineers to construct tunnels without a lining, which is typically steel, concrete, or slurry shield. Many desert mammals, however, can construct tunnels in loose sand, and the tunnels can remain stable over extended periods of time in harsh desert environments. This study presents the state of knowledge on mammal burrows in loose desert sand and provides insights from a geotechnical engineering perspective with the aim of understanding how desert mammals tackle a geotechnical challenge. The study presents these desert mammals as biogeotechnical engineers and explains their burrow stability using three fundamental soil mechanics principles: (i) unsaturated soil mechanics, (ii) compaction, and (iii) soil cementation. Damara mole-rats, kangaroo rats, pocket gophers, and round-tailed ground squirrels are presented as the desert biogeotechnical engineers. Proof-of-concept experiments conducted with a poorly graded fine sand demonstrate the effects of the fundamental soil mechanics principles used by the animals on soil strength. A limit equilibrium tunnel stability analysis performed using sand from a kangaroo rat habitat in the Sonoran Desert also demonstrated the link between tunnel stability of desert mammals and the three geotechnical principles.
Geotechnical insights of mammal burrows in loose desert sand
Acta Geotech.
Akin, Idil Deniz (Autor:in) / Tirkes, Sera (Autor:in) / Collins, Clint E. (Autor:in)
Acta Geotechnica ; 19 ; 1449-1459
01.03.2024
11 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Damara mole-rat , Kangaroo rat , Pocket gopher , Round-tailed ground squirrel , Shallow tunnels Engineering , Geoengineering, Foundations, Hydraulics , Solid Mechanics , Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences , Soil Science & Conservation , Soft and Granular Matter, Complex Fluids and Microfluidics
Geotechnical insights of mammal burrows in loose desert sand
| Springer Verlag | 2024
Vibration densifies loose sand
| Engineering Index Backfile | 1959
Muck stabilizes loose sand base
Engineering Index Backfile | 1956
Liquefaction of loose gassy sand
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
The behavior of loose gassy sand
| Online Contents | 1999