Abstract:

The movement of loose sand by wind is considered a destructive phenomenon in arid regions, causing damage to buildings, agricultural lands, and communication lines. Therefore, developing control tools to combat this natural phenomenon is essential. In addition to petroleum mulch, which presents significant environmental issues, clay mulch can be proposed as a suitable solution for stabilizing this destructive occurrence.

In an implementation project in the southeastern region of the country, a diversion dam was constructed, and floodwaters were directed into sand dunes to promote sediment deposition, which resulted in a crust formation over the loose sand, providing an effective cover. Hydraulic and geotechnical studies were conducted, including meteorological and hydrological assessments, and drilling operations to a depth of 30 meters to gather soil mechanics data.

One of the major concerns in the structural design was the conditions of liquefaction and quicksand. By constructing a gabion diversion dam and earthen embankments, while considering all technical aspects of the soil structure and establishing hydraulic connections among the sand dunes, 60% of the areas prone to erosion improved by 77%, achieving stable conditions.