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Is the Soil Stable?

CSEF · 2014 Earth & Planetary Sciences

Nicole S. Matthias, Rhiannon A. Russell · Ridgeview High School, Bakersfield, Kern County

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of this project is to determine what additives could potentially make saturated soil stronger. Methods/Materials We filled PVC pipes with different mixtures of pine needles, leaves, polystyrene, or plain soil. After letting them saturate, we inserted wooden dowels into them, simulated an earthquake, and removed the dowels using a force gauge. Results The soil with polystyrene came out to be the strongest while the soil with leaves was the weakest. Conclusions/Discussion The polystyrene could have been stronger because it stabilized the soil. Leaves have a waxy surface causing water to easily slide off them, and pine needles did not have enough surface area to keep the soil from liquefying.

Summary statement

The project is about the stability of different soil types after being saturated and simulated through and earthquake.

Help received

Mother helped saw PVC pipe and wooden rods as well as drilling holes into PVC pipe

Competition history

  • CSEF 2014 Earth & Planetary Sciences · Entry S0804

Resources

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