Characteristics of soil salt crust formed by mixing calcium chloride with sodium sulfate and the possibility of inhibiting wind-sand flow

Soil salt crust can change the structure of aeolian soil and improve its resistance to wind erosion. Four ions (Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, and SO42-) with high contents in aeolian soil were selected for a salt crust experiment. The experiment set a variety of gradients of soil salt contents and salt mixing ratios of Na2SO4 and CaCl2. The physical properties of the salt crust were tested, and the wind erosion resistance of the salt crust was discussed. The results showed that the soil salt contents and salt mixing ratio influenced the resistance of the salt crust, especially in terms of its compressive strength and toughness. The former affected the compressive strength of the salt crust by changing the amount of cemented soil salt. The latter affected the kinds of crystals by changing the ion ratio, thus changing the structure of the salt crust and affecting its wind erosion resistance. The wind erosion resistance of the salt crust is complicated by the interaction between the soil salt content and salt mixing ratio. A multilayer crust can be formed in mixed salt, which has a strong wind erosion resistance. This result provides new findings on flowing sand soil and a new method for the treatment of flowing sand soil.