New polymer composites improve silty‐clay soil microstructure as evaluated by NMR

Soil erosion is a major environmental threat. The purpose of this study was to develop new polymer soil improvers that could mitigate the risk of soil erosion by modifying the microstructure of the soil and improving the ecological self-repair ability. In particular, this study investigated new polymer composites (ADNB) based on different combination ratios of nano-aqueous adhesive (NAB) and superabsorbent resin (SARn). The effects of different types of ADNB on soil water characteristics and pore size distribution were systematically investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In addition, an empirical model based on experimental data was developed to describe the effects of ADNB on the soil-water characteristic curves. The results showed that in comparison to natural soil, the application of ADNB could significantly increase the peak signal strength of the relaxation time curve. In addition, ADNB can effectively reduce the number of pores with diameters of 1.11–8.3 μm, increase the number of pores with diameters of 0.5–1.8 μm, but had little effect on the number of pores with diameters of 0–0.5 μm. Through NMR imaging analysis, the effects of ADNB on soil moisture absorption and storage were quantified. The results showed that the ratio and content of ADNB have an obvious effect on the soil-water characteristic curve under low suction but showed little effect under high suction conditions, indicating that the water-holding capacity has been improved.