Effect of Salt Leaching on Micromechanical Behaviour and Structure of Hachirogata Clay

Effect of Salt Leaching on Micromechanical Behaviour and Structure of Hachirogata Clay | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effect of Salt Leaching on Micromechanical Behaviour and Structure of Hachirogata Clay Motohei Kanayama, Momoe Takahashi, Kiyohito Yamamoto This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7098182/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In the Hachirogata reclaimed area, Minamiakita County, Akita Prefecture, Japan, one of the leading agricultural production areas in the country, the agricultural production foundation and facilities are deteriorating significantly, and problems specific to low-lying reclaimed farmland, such as deterioration of water quality and differential settlement of structures, are occurring. This study investigates the effects of salt leaching on the micromechanical behaviour of highly active Hachirogata clay. A leached sample was artificially prepared using a boring sample collected from the Hachirogata reclaimed land, and a micro-indentation test was performed on both non-leached and leached samples. The results of the indentation test confirmed that the electrical conductivity (EC) of Hachirogata clay was highly correlated with cohesion, c, and that the c value dropped sharply when the EC fell below a certain threshold. Therefore, salt leaching leads to a decrease in the cohesion of clay particles by reducing the number of ions in the clay, making the clay easier to deform under load. From the results of this study, it was inferred that localised salt leaching, which changes the micromechanical behaviour of clay, is one of the factors causing ground differential settlement or slip failure. It is expected that such ground problems could be mitigated by identifying locations with low EC values, that is, weak areas in the ground, and implementing countermeasures such as ground improvement or using lightweight embankment materials in those zones. Marine clay Salt leaching Micro-indentation test Electrical conductivity Cohesion Microscopic structure Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7098182","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":483846186,"identity":"4559cf49-7d98-450d-9cb7-24afd0b040ec","order_by":0,"name":"Motohei Kanayama","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Kyushu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Motohei","middleName":"","lastName":"Kanayama","suffix":""},{"id":483846189,"identity":"e377ccb9-c913-4578-8fd4-7c20be889924","order_by":1,"name":"Momoe Takahashi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kajima Corporation","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Momoe","middleName":"","lastName":"Takahashi","suffix":""},{"id":483846191,"identity":"b0a124ec-a943-4742-8a6a-20bfaa166462","order_by":2,"name":"Kiyohito Yamamoto","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Iwate University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kiyohito","middleName":"","lastName":"Yamamoto","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-11 06:08:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7098182/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7098182/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89844697,"identity":"2c0008cf-1c2b-4c43-afd9-8d719d6dd6c8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-25 15:53:52","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3429424,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptMay2025R1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7098182/v1_covered_9fc9321b-817b-4427-9b86-a392475ee7ce.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effect of Salt Leaching on Micromechanical Behaviour and Structure of Hachirogata Clay","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Marine clay, Salt leaching, Micro-indentation test, Electrical conductivity, Cohesion, Microscopic structure","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7098182/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7098182/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn the Hachirogata reclaimed area, Minamiakita County, Akita Prefecture, Japan, one of the leading agricultural production areas in the country, the agricultural production foundation and facilities are deteriorating significantly, and problems specific to low-lying reclaimed farmland, such as deterioration of water quality and differential settlement of structures, are occurring. 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