This paper focuses on the low cement content characteristic of soil slurry materials for mine reclamation, investigating the effects of three types of superplasticizers (polyester-based polycarboxylate (PCE), sodium lignosulfonate (SLS), and naphthalene-based (PNS)) on the flow properties of freshly mixed solidified soil slurry. It proposes a method combining shear rheology and micro-rheology experiments to complete the selection of superplasticizers. The rheological properties of the freshly mixed slurry were compared at different dosages of superplasticizers and various resting times. The results indicate that PCE at 0.4 % dosage exhibits the best dispersion effect in the solidified soil slurry. In-situ ATR FTIR, in-situ low-field NMR, and zeta-potential tests confirmed that PCE can effectively delay the solidification process of the soil slurry to maintain its fluidity. At a PCE dosage of 0.4 %, the spatial hindrance between slurry particles is reduced, increasing the proportion of free water in the solidified soil, with the zeta-potential not being the main factor affecting the rheological properties of the soil slurry. This study provides a theoretical foundation and solutions for regulating the early fluidity of solidified soil slurry materials used in the land reclamation of coal gangue in the Northwest mining areas of China.

Jet grouting piles were widely employed for ground reinforcement in building and infrastructure engineering due to the low cost and construction convenience. However, this foundation treatment method is not allowed to be used in high-speed railway involved constructions in China because of the concerning of the negative effect on the lateral displacement of the existing high-speed railway. To find a reasonable application distance of jet grouting piles away from existing high-speed railway bridge in deep soft soils with medium sensibility, a series of laboratory and in-situ tests on the influence of the jet grouting piling on the deformation of surrounding soils and adjacent high-speed railway bridge are carried out. The geological characteristics of the construction site and the mechanical properties of the soft soil are deeply investigated by utilizing field and laboratory tests. The piling induced lateral displacement of the surrounding soils is monitored as well as the displacement of an adjacent high-speed railway bridge. The monitoring data reveal that the influence area of the jet grouting piling is approximately 1.75 -1.85 times of the pile length in deep soft soils. The critical distance of the jet grouting piles from the existing high-speed bridge should be larger than 2 times of the pile length.(c) 2023 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

In-situ snow measurements conducted by European institutions for operational, research, and energy business applications were surveyed in the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action ES1404, called A European network for a harmonised monitoring of snow for the benefit of climate change scenarios, hydrology, and numerical weather prediction. Here we present the results of this survey, which was answered by 125 participants from 99 operational and research institutions, belonging to 38 European countries. The typologies of environments where the snow measurements are performed range from mountain to low elevated plains, including forests, bogs, tundra, urban areas, glaciers, lake ice, and sea ice. Of the respondents, 93% measure snow macrophysical parameters, such as snow presence, snow depth (HS), snow water equivalent (SWE), and snow density. These describe the bulk characteristics of the whole snowpack or of a snow layer, and they are the primary snow properties that are needed for most operational applications (such as hydrological monitoring, avalanche forecast, and weather forecast). In most cases, these measurements are done with manual methods, although for snow presence, HS, and SWE, automatized methods are also applied by some respondents. Parameters characterizing precipitating and suspended snow (such as the height of new snow, precipitation intensity, flux of drifting/blowing snow, and particle size distribution), some of which are crucial for the operational services, are measured by 74% of the respondents. Parameters characterizing the snow microstructural properties (such as the snow grain size and shape, and specific surface area), the snow electromagnetic properties (such as albedo, brightness temperature, and backscatter), and the snow composition (such as impurities and isotopes) are measured by 41%, 26%, and 13% of the respondents, respectively, mostly for research applications. The results of this survey are discussed from the perspective of the need of enhancing the efficiency and coverage of the in-situ observational network applying automatic and cheap measurement methods. Moreover, recommendations for the enhancement and harmonization of the observational network and measurement practices are provided.