A standardized preparation process is proposed in this study for achieving optimal strength and vegetative properties in vegetated concrete, using Yunnan red soil as a growth substrate for plants. The porosity of vegetated concrete is a crucial factor influencing plant growth, while compressive strength is a significant mechanical property. To assess the strength and porosity of vegetated concrete, different design porosities (22%, 24%, 26%, 28%) and cement-to-aggregate ratios (4, 5, 6, 7) were utilized in the preparation of vegetated concrete samples. The shell-making and static-pressure-molding methods were optimized for specimen preparation. Analyzing the stress–strain full curve characteristics of vegetation-type concrete under different influencing factors, an in-depth investigation into its failure mechanism was conducted. It was determined that the design porosity and cement content significantly impact the concrete’s performance, particularly in terms of 30-day compressive strength and effective porosity. Furthermore, an increase in the fly ash ratio led to an increase in porosity and a decrease in compressive strength, providing a certain guidance for optimizing concrete performance. Comparative analysis through vegetation experiments revealed that black rye grass exhibited favorable growth adaptability compared to other grass species.

A digital civilization rising on silicon-based technology is predicted to replace carbon-based spaces with virtual ones, leading to the decline of rural regionalism. Reconciling the benefits of globalization through data-driven methods while preserving the locality of rural areas is crucial. The extensive collection of traditional villages in the Yunnan Province possesses abundant natural heritages and diverse regional cultural resources. However, the existing assessment and identification index system for these traditional villages primarily relies on qualitative measures, which lack a consistent and quantifiable data system that can provide scientific, data-driven analysis. This study focuses on the mainstream types of traditional villages in the Yunnan Province as its research subject. Based on empirical research methods and architectural typology principles, two data acquisition and vectorization procedures are implemented, combining tilt photography and digital mapping technology. This approach addresses the inconsistency problem of the current system’s complex information and multiple data. This study aims to establish an efficient, objective, and consistent method of generating a database that comprehensively represents the environmental and architectural characteristics of the villages. Once established, this database could serve as a consistent and objective basis for subsequent quantitative analyses across different types of villages. Hence, setting up a consistent, quantifiable database is the first step to future data-driven policymaking, which is essential for sustainable preservation. In conclusion, the repeatability and reproducibility of these research findings are intrinsically tied to the meticulous methodology employed in the process of data acquisition and vectorization. The valid result was demonstrated after the verifying of the correlation analysis. Finally, a challenge to the universality came from adding different worldwide villages to the database and revealing underlying patterns.

The disposal of peat soil poses an increasingly difficult problem for actual engineering projects of Dianchi Lake area. This study obtains peat soil from seven areas around Dianchi Lake, and the content of humic acid (HA) in peat soil is between 2.36% and 28.13%. Then, this study simulates the peat soil by adding HA into the cohesive soil and uses cement to solidify it. The effect of cement and HA on the strength development of samples is examined by the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test. Additionally, the microstructures of typical mixes are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results showed that HA will significantly reduce the UCS of cement soil. The SEM, XRD, and MIP confirmed that cement hydration reaction increases with cement ratio. In addition to the cementitious soil particles, hydration products gradually fill the pores of the soil and effectively reduce the number of large-size (6000∼40,000 nm) pores in cement soil, which makes the soil particle framework stronger. When the cement ratio increases from 15% to 25%, the diffraction peak of CAH and CSH increases faster. Combined with the results of the UCS test, it could be proved that cement ratio greater than 20% weakens the influence of HA on the strength development of cement soil sample.

The influence of peat soil environment (PSE) on the mechanical properties of cement-soil in the area around Dianchi Lake and Erhai Lake in Yunnan Province has attracted much attention. This study explores the change law of cement-soil UCS in the PSE, and provides guidance for the development and sustained usage of peat soil foundation. The paper discusses the preparation of cement-soil samples by adding humic acid (HA) and cement to cohesive soil with low organic matter content (blending method) and soaking it in fulvic acid (FA) solution and deionized water (steeping method) to simulate the actual working environment of cement-soil. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS), acid consumption, ion leaching, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) tests are carried out on cement-soil samples soaked for 90 days. The results show that HA can significantly reduce the UCS of cement-soil. FA can reduce the UCS of cement-soil when the content of HA is less than 18%. However, when the amount of HA is more than 18%, the UCS of cement-soil increases slightly. FA makes the deformation and failure type of cement-soil gradually change from brittle shear failure to plastic shear failure. FA reacts with the cement hydration products in the sample so that the cumulative acid consumption of the cement-soil sample continues to increase, and the dissolution of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, and Fe³⁺ in the sample increases the ion concentration of the soaking solution. In addition, SEM and XRD show that HA can increase the macropores and connectivity of cement-soil, while FA fills part of the pores of the wetting layer. In the PSE, FA can strengthen the inner structure of HA particles and fill and cement the layers of cohesive particles, enhancing the construction of cement-soil with HA content greater than 18%, so that its UCS is relatively improved. However, when the amount of HA is less than 18%, there are more small pores in the cement-soil. The interaction between FA and HA in the cement-soil is weak. The influence of FA on cement-soil is mainly a weakening effect, and its UCS is relatively reduced.

The effect and feasibility of peat soil environment (PSE) simulation pose a difficult problem for geotechnical environmental engineering. In this study, the actual content of humic group (HG) in peat soil of Dianchi Lake is determined, and the method of adding humic acid (HA) reagent into cohesive soil and soaking it in fulvic acid (FA) solution is used to simulate PSE of Dianchi Lake. By comparing the HG content of test samples and natural peat soil, the effect and feasibility of simulation test are studied. And the effects of HG on microstructure and material composition of PSE are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) tests. The test results show that the content of HG and its components of PSE in seven sites of Dianchi Lake are quite different. The simulation method used in this study can simulate the PSE with different HA and FA contents, but the simulation method of soaking samples in FA solution cannot reach the actual effect. The SEM test confirm that the pore size and pore connectivity will increase with the HA reagent. However, FA is wrapped on the skeleton of soil through adsorption and fills some pores, which reduces the pore diameter and weakens pore connectivity. The XRD test shows that both HA and FA can reduce the diffraction peak of main substances in the samples, but not including SiO₂. The reason is that HG and cohesive soil particles undergo coordination exchange and ion exchange; free HG combines with cohesive soil particles and transforms into bound HG, forming an organic‐inorganic complex PSE.

The disposal of soil containing humic acid (HA) poses an increasingly difficult problem for geotechnical environmental engineering. In this study, the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test of cement‐soil with different HA contents is conducted to analyze the effect of HA on the strength of cement‐soil. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) experiments reveal the effective mechanism of HA on the strength of cement‐soil from the microscopic level. The results show that the strength of cement‐soil decreases gradually with the increase of HA content. The failure mode of cement‐soil slightly changed from brittle failure to plastic failure. The microscopic test shows that the incorporation of HA will lead to the apparent enlargement of the pores in the cement‐soil. The large pores in the sample increase, the small micropores decrease, and the structure tends to be loose and overhead. The increased HA content added will significantly reduce the cement hydration products and destroy the cementation of the hydration products.