Sandy Loam Soil Shear Strength Parameters and Its Colour
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This article introduces the measurement of two important parameters of shear strength- the shear cohesion and the internal friction angle. Shear strength parameters of sandy loam soil are evaluated in relation to moisture content using the Mohr-Coulomb criterion and direct shear tests. The relationship between its color parameters and moisture content is also analyzed, which is somewhat innovative. The test for establishing the relationship between color and shear strength is interesting, reflecting color through sandy loam soil colour reflectance at 700nm, and then establishing its relationship with moisture content. The results are well illustrated in Figure 9. The article is not logically complex, but its applicability is not broad enough, while there are some problems as follows.
1. This article is about the determination of shear strength parameters of sandy loam soil, and the relationship between moisture content and shear strength parameters is obtained by direct shear using an instrument. This part is not innovative enough, and the specificity of the relationship between moisture content and shear strength on such a soil sample is not obvious enough. The experimental methods are also not elaborated to be innovative, and the overall feeling is too brief. It is suggested to enhance the innovative expression in this section, and where the difference with other scholars is. In addition, the obtained moisture content relationship does not give a fitted expression, what the fitted R-squared is, or whether the fit is simply to reflect a trend.
2. The second part has an analysis on color, and although a relationship between moisture content and color is obtained in Figure 9, its specific application is not well illustrated. With the change of moisture content, the color changes is a relatively easy to find fact in appearance, its specific can be used for what, and the quantitative link with the shear strength parameters need to be specifically elaborated. It is recommended to enhance the elaboration of equation 2, preferably with a simple example to facilitate the reader's understanding.
3. The points in the conclusion section are too scattered, and I personally suggest consolidating them into 3 or 4 points.
Author Response
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Reviewer 2 Report
This paper investigates the color changes of sandy loam soil with the increasing moisture contents. This is a carefully done study and the findings are of considerable interest. A few minor revisions are list below.
1 The format of the abstract is not correct. Please read the author guidelines. It is too descriptive and lengthy. Please add some quantities to it and shorten it through focusing on the main point.
2 “In the case of land locomotion, the shearing force acting on the soil is resulting from the rotation of the tractive device (wheel/track) on the terrain.” is inaccuracy. Please delete it.
3 Some references are outdated; some are even very old. It is strongly recommended to use recent references.
4 In addition, the list of references is not in our style. It is close but not completely correct.
5 Authors should emphasize the purpose of listing a series of literature, namely the effect of moisture in shear performance and color. In the introduction section, it is recommended that some references that focus on the moisture-dependent behavior of soil should be added, including but not limited to
Characterisation of stress and moisture-dependent resilient behaviour for compacted clays in South China, Road Materials and Pavement Design, 2020, 21(1): 262-275
State-of-the-Art Review of Utilization of Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation for Improving Moisture-Dependent Properties of Unsaturated Soils, Applied Sciences, 2023, 13, 2502
6 It is necessary to introduce the operation process of this research in the end of Introduction section.
7 Please use “Materials and Methods” and “Results and Discussions” as the section titles.
8 Please add physical parameters of sandy soil, including optimum moisture content, maximum dry density, plastic and liquid limit.
9 The result discussion is related to the theory, but the relevance of the findings to the modernization of the state of art is not clear. The methodology is well designed, but there are missing elements that relate the proposed to what was actually found by the authors. Contributions are unclear.
10 The section 3 to 6 should be largely improved, and the discussion and influencing factors should be provided. The findings behind those results need to be investigated.
11 The conclusion part should be more refined to make the findings and contributions of the paper clearer. Furthermore, please note the difference between the conclusions and abstract.
Author Response
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Reviewer 3 Report
1. The Title of the paper seems very generic.
2. The abstract needs to be revised, it should reflect the quantitative results of the study.
3. The literature section is very weak, needs substantial revision. Here are some references that can improve the quality of the literature section
doi: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2021.103335,
10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002415
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105386
https://doi.org/10.1177/136943322211311
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109777
doi: 10.3389/fmats.2023.1137324
https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3708
4. Author should clearly mention the gap of the research work and the novelty of the current work, they may add a separate section as research significance.
5. The presentation of the result and discussion needs to be improved.
6. The quality of figures needs to be improved.
7. Why the trendline is added when the breaking point doesn’t fall in it?
8. The conclusion is very generic. Improvement is must.
9. It is recommended to add the limitation and future scope of the work.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 4 Report
Sandy Loam Soil Shear Strength Parameters and Its Colour
The manuscript attempted to examine the shear strength and moisture content of sandy loam soil and establish a correlation of the mentioned parameters with soil colour. However, the paper's main objective is unclear in both the abstract and introduction. The paper itself lacks significant technical value when it comes to measuring soil shear strength as classical shear box tests were used on one type of soil. The correlation using equation 2 and the steps listed on page 12 Lines 309 to 316 were not verified in the paper. The findings of the paper can't be generalised. As a result, the paper's quality is not significant enough to warrant publication.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors answered my questions in detail and the idea of using color to reflect shear strength parameters does have some value.
However, I would suggest that the authors have a concrete application example to show the process of linking the colour to the cohesion and internal friction angle. For instance, a simple calculation case can be given to calculate the moisture content from the color, as well as the cohesion and internal friction angle, which can better indicate how to predict the shear strength parameter from the colour of the soil.
For R-Square, the authors stated that more experiments are needed to get the best curve, meaning that the R-Square obtained from the current amount of experiments is not very good, but it is enough to reflect the law? Is the amount of tests insufficient or the value obtained so far is not good enough?
The main idea of this article is innovative and valuable at the practical level, but there is still some room for improvement in writing.
Author Response
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Reviewer 2 Report
The modifications made in the paper make it suitable for publication.
Author Response
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Reviewer 3 Report
The author have not fully revised the manuscript as per my suggestions. I suggest them to go through the following changes:
1. Research significance cannot be at the end of the manuscript. It must come after the introduction. Research significance must reflect the gap as well has novelty of current work. The novelty portion is okay but the gap needs to incorporated.
2. Presentation of conclusion should start with a brief summary of the study followed by the bullet points.
3. The figures titles and axis should be in Black colour. It will increase the visibility.
4. Author is recommended to add the following papers :
doi: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2021.103335,
10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002415
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2022.105386
https://doi.org/10.1177/136943322211311
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2021.109777
doi: 10.3389/fmats.2023.1137324
https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3708
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
