Intelligent irrigation and self-degradation rod device for desert sand prevention, control and stabilization

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent irrigation and self-degradation rod device for desert sand prevention, control and stabilization, and belongs to the technical field of desertification control and ecological restoration engineering. The device is of an integrally formed structure and comprises an overground spiral rod and an underground water storage fermentation tank, the total length is 55 cm, and the diameter is 3 cm. The outer surface of the overground spiral rod is provided with three vortex type spiral sand blocking water flowing grooves used for blocking sand wind and collecting rainwater, and the collected rainwater is guided into the underground water storage fermentation tank through a water guide pipe. The device body is made of degradable composite materials and comprises 40% of agricultural and pastoral straw sawdust, 30% of coal gangue, 20% of organic clay and 10% of biological adhesive. An automatic drainage system based on the siphon principle is arranged in the water storage fermentation tank, and the functions of water collection, water storage and irrigation can be achieved without external power. The device can be completely degraded in a desert environment within 2-3 years, and soil nutrients are released. The device is standardized in structure, suitable for mechanical arrangement and used for desert soil improvement and ecological restoration.

Description

A smart irrigation and self-degradable rod device for desert sand control and sand fixation Background Technology

[0001] 1. The core issue in the formation of deserts lies in the "three deficiencies": lack of water, lack of soil suitable for plant growth, and lack of nutrients. Traditional methods of control (such as artificially laying straw checkerboards, straw sand barriers, rice straw, and vine and willow cuttings) can only achieve a temporary sand-blocking effect within one year, failing to form a long-term and stable ecological barrier. The control effect is slow and costly. Straw, vines, and willows cannot degrade naturally, resulting in the waste of agricultural resources. Their disorderly accumulation can also damage the desert landscape and easily cause fires. At the same time, rainwater and artificially transported water are quickly lost to the ground without soil infiltration and storage, failing to achieve the synergistic effect of water conservation, sand fixation, and desertification control.

[0002] 2. See Chinese Invention Patent CN121024160A (A Desert Intelligent Water Intake Ecological Restoration and Integrated Security System, Publication Date November 28, 2025), which discloses an integrated system combining wind and solar power, air-based water intake, intelligent irrigation, and integrated security. This system achieves desert ecological restoration through multi-level water intake and intelligent control. The application date of this invention is later than the publication date of that patent, and the technology disclosed in that patent can be used as prior art reference for this invention. While this system primarily addresses the severe water shortage problem in deserts and is comprehensive in function, it is structurally complex with numerous components. Relying on combined photovoltaic and wind power supply, it requires core components such as compressors, batteries, and central controllers. This results in high costs, a large engineering workload, and high maintenance costs. Furthermore, all components are made of non-degradable materials, leading to short-term sand-fixing effects and an inability to achieve a complete ecological closed loop of "sand blocking-sand fixing-water conservation-soil nourishment." This fundamentally differs from the fully ecological, degradable, and low-cost design concept of this invention.

[0003] 3. In summary, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive solution that can achieve "sand prevention, sand control, sand blocking, sand fixation, water collection, water conservation, irrigation, fertilization, and self-degradation," and a sand control device that conforms to the concept of whole-ecosystem governance, is technologically intelligent, and sustainable, in order to fill the existing technological gap.

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention aims to provide a smart irrigation and self-degradable rod device for desert sand control and stabilization. It is integrally molded from a composite material of crushed solid waste such as agricultural and livestock waste wood chips, clay, and waste coal gangue ore, adaptable to the needs of major ecological restoration projects, filling a gap in existing technology, and specifically achieving the following objectives: 1. Functional Integration: Simultaneously achieving sand control, sand prevention, water collection, water retention, water storage, intelligent irrigation, fertilization, seedling cultivation, and soil improvement, breaking through the limitations of traditional single-function methods, realizing multi-stage synergistic governance, and improving desertification control effectiveness; 2. Practical and Eco-friendly: The sand control rod adopts a unique spiral vortex design, which can effectively prevent, control, and prevent sand, while cleverly collecting rainwater and storing it in a water storage fermentation tank chamber; it is made of fully degradable multi-composite ecological crop materials, which can completely self-degrade and integrate into the desert within 2-3 years, transforming into soil nutrient matrix, rapidly promoting desert soil to meet the standards of agricultural and livestock planting land; 3. Technological Intelligence: A technological breakthrough in automatic drainage systems based on the fluid mechanics "siphon principle" (i.e., the "fairness cup" principle), combined with optimized design based on the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, achieving fully automated physical irrigation without any external power source (electricity, machinery, etc.); 4. High Economic Efficiency: Adaptable to mechanized operations, significantly reducing labor and material costs in desertification control, constructing a complete ecological economic industrial chain of "recycled and environmentally friendly material utilization - automated mechanized production - ecological restoration - agricultural and livestock industry transformation," achieving a win-win situation for both ecology and economy. Technical Solution

[0005] 1. To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, this invention provides a systematic technical solution: the device is a spiral columnar body vertically implanted in sand, preferably 55 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. Its core design philosophy is "above-ground obstruction and guidance, underground storage and irrigation, automatic irrigation, biodegradation, and ecological cycle," constructing a complete ecological cycle system of "sand prevention-sand control-sand blocking-water collection-water retention-water storage-fertilization-self-degradation," achieving multi-functional synergistic linkage.

[0006] 2. Ground-based spiral sand-blocking and diversion section: This section is preferably 30 cm in length. Its innovation lies in the three aerodynamically optimized spiral grooves ①②③④ engraved on its outer surface (which also serve as eddy current water collection). This design embodies a dual principle of precision engineering: In windy and sandy environments, the spiral grooves effectively disrupt surface laminar flow, converting the kinetic energy of wind and sand into turbulence, significantly reducing wind speed, and promoting sand deposition within the grooves to harden the ground along the flow, achieving efficient physical sand fixation; during precipitation events, the spiral grooves immediately transform into a highly efficient "surface runoff collection and guidance system," using its continuous eddy current convergence surface to rapidly collect rainwater and transport it downwards along the spiral path, greatly reducing ineffective evaporation and dispersion losses of precipitation on the sandy surface, and improving rainwater utilization.

[0007] 3. Underground Water Storage Irrigation Degradation Section: This section is preferably 25 cm in length, forming a complete "miniature ecological base station," with its core being the ⑯ water storage fermentation tank chamber. Collected rainwater first undergoes preliminary filtration through a permeable wall with fine pores to remove impurities such as silt. Then, it enters the central diversion pipe through the ⑤ permeable hole and finally flows into the ⑯ water storage fermentation tank chamber. The upper part of the chamber is equipped with a filter support structure that can hold solid organic fertilizer or functional solid agents. Water impregnates these agents to form a "fermentation extract," thereby achieving slow nutrient release and continuous fertilization, tailored to the plant's growth needs.

[0008] 4. Intelligent automatic drainage system. This system is ingeniously designed based on the "siphon principle" (i.e., the "fairness cup" principle) in fluid mechanics, combined with the principle of thermal expansion and contraction: When the liquid level in the chamber of the fermentation tank exceeds the preset critical drainage level (i.e., the apex of the inverted U-shaped siphon), or when changes in the external temperature cause a temperature difference in the automatic drainage bend in the chamber, forming a driving airflow, the system automatically starts, smoothly draining the excess water-fertilizer mixture into the deep sand around the device through the drainage outlet at the bottom, directly moisturizing the plant root area. This process requires no external power input, realizing fully automated, on-demand precise irrigation, taking into account both water-saving efficiency and targeted irrigation.

[0009] 5. Biodegradable Composite Material: The life cycle end of the device in this invention is not abandonment, but the starting point of ecological transformation. Its main material is a scientifically formulated composite material composed of agricultural and livestock waste (40% straw and wood chips), mining solid waste (30% coal gangue), natural clay (20%), and biomass adhesive (10% plant glue). It contains various trace elements such as iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, calcium, zinc, manganese, copper, boron, and chlorine, which can effectively replenish soil nutrients. After being extruded under high temperature and pressure, this material possesses the mechanical strength and permeability required for initial use. Under the combined environmental stresses of desert wet-dry cycles, freeze-thaw cycles, and ultraviolet light, its polymer and fiber structure will undergo controlled disintegration within a preset 2-3 years, ultimately transforming into an improved matrix rich in organic matter, aluminosilicate minerals, and trace elements. This matrix directly integrates into the sand, providing a solid material foundation for soil development and subsequent plant community succession, completely solving the residual pollution problem of traditional desertification control materials, and realizing an ecological closed loop of "body degradation - nutrient cycling". Beneficial Effects

[0010] Compared with existing technologies, this invention has the following outstanding advantages: 1. Multifunctional high integration and synergistic effect: It integrates the originally separate sand fixation project, rainwater harvesting project, irrigation project and soil improvement project into a single standardized device system, realizing the synergistic governance effect of "1+1>2", which greatly improves the technological efficiency density and economic benefits per unit area of ​​treatment. The biodegradable materials have no secondary pollution, effectively solve the ecological hazards of traditional sand barriers, conform to the concept of "whole ecological development", can quickly improve desert soil, promote the transformation of desert into agricultural and pastoral planting land, and build a complete ecological economic industrial chain.

[0011] 2. Zero-carbon intelligent operation and maintenance: The entire process utilizes pure physical principles (aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, biology) to achieve the entire process of sand prevention, sand control, sand blocking, water collection, water storage, fertilization, water conservation and irrigation. It does not require any external power sources such as electricity or machinery, and the operating cost is zero, which is in line with the development concept of green and ecological industries.

[0012] 3. High Efficiency Across the Entire Ecological Life Cycle: A closed-loop system is formed, encompassing "production-end disposal, utilization-end efficiency enhancement, and end-of-life transformation." At the production end, various solid wastes from agriculture, animal husbandry, industry, and mining are disposed of, achieving resource utilization. At the utilization end, water and fertilizer utilization efficiency is improved, plant growth is promoted, and ecological restoration effectiveness is enhanced. At the end of the life cycle, waste is harmlessly degraded into soil nutrients, continuously improving the soil. This design aligns with the needs of large-scale ecological governance of desert areas, promoting the economic enhancement of desert land resources.

[0013] 4. Promoting the transformation of governance models: The standardized structural design makes the device very suitable for large-scale mechanized operations and efficient deployment, which can upgrade the desertification control industry from a traditional labor-intensive industry to a technology-intensive full-ecological industrial chain, significantly reducing the implementation cost and time cycle of major ecological restoration projects, and possessing significant economic value and social benefits.

[0014] 5. Technology-enabled implementation: This invention is not only a single desertification control product, but also a replicable and scalable intelligent ecological restoration system solution, providing solid technical support for the planned and step-by-step restoration of vast deserts into land resources with agricultural production potential.

[0015] 1. Figure 1 is a product diagram. It is 55cm long and 3cm in diameter. It consists of ⑮30cm above ground and ⑯25cm underground. ①②③④ Sand-blocking water channel, ⑤ seepage hole, ⑥ water guide pipe, ⑦ seepage wall, ⑧ sealing groove, ⑨ seepage hole, ⑩ automatic drainage position, ⑪ automatic drainage conduit, ⑫ water storage fermentation tank, ⑬ solid fermentation fertilizer, ⑭ automatic drainage outlet, and ⑰ 3cm in diameter.

[0016] 2. Figure 2 is a scene diagram, applicable to scenarios such as "sand desert", showing the ecological restoration effect of collecting rainwater and blocking sand and dust.

[0017] 3. Figure 3 is a flowchart. Rainwater and sandstorms are separated into water and sand by the spiral sand-blocking water channel structure of this device. Rainwater flows into the water storage fermentation tank (①②③④ sand-blocking water channel → ⑦ seepage wall → ⑤ seepage hole → ⑨ seepage hole → ⑪ automatic drainage pipe) of the device body and finally flows into the water storage fermentation tank (⑫). When the water reaches the automatic drainage level, it is automatically discharged from the tank to moisten the deep soil and plant roots. If the water does not reach the drainage level, it continues to store and ferment water and fertilizer, forming an ecological system cycle.

[0018] Sand and dust settle onto the surrounding surface layer through the sand-blocking and water-flowing channels ①②③④ of the device body, forming a fixed and hardened layer that enhances the stability of the ground and provides a foundation for the external environment required for vegetation growth.

Claims

1. A smart irrigation and degradation rod device for desert sand control and fixation, characterized by the following... The device is a vertically implanted spiral column in the sand, preferably 55 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter, integrally formed from an above-ground spiral sand-blocking and guiding section and an underground water storage, irrigation, and degradation section. The above-ground spiral sand-blocking and guiding section is preferably 30 cm long, with three aerodynamically optimized spiral grooves (①②③④) on its outer surface, serving both sand-blocking and eddy-flow water collection functions. The underground water storage, irrigation, and degradation section is preferably 25 cm long, with a core of a water storage fermentation tank chamber (⑯). The upper part of the chamber has a filter support structure for loading solid organic fertilizer or functional solid agents, and the chamber is equipped with an automatic drainage system. The material is a biodegradable composite made from a mixture of 40% agricultural waste straw and wood chips, 30% mining solid waste coal gangue, 20% natural clay, and 10% biomass adhesive plant glue, which is then extruded under high temperature and pressure. After being buried in the desert, it can decompose in a controlled manner within 2-3 years, eventually transforming into a soil improvement substrate rich in organic matter and various trace elements. The sand-blocking spiral groove can collect rainwater. After being filtered through the seepage wall with micron-sized pores, the rainwater enters the central diversion pipe through the seepage hole ⑤ and finally flows into the water storage and fermentation tank chamber ⑯, realizing the integration of water collection, water storage, fermentation and fertilization.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sand-blocking spiral grooves ①②③④ are uniformly distributed elliptical spiral structures, embodying dual engineering principles. In windy and sandy environments, they can disrupt surface laminar flow, reduce wind speed, and promote sand deposition to achieve physical sand fixation. In precipitation environments, they can serve as a surface runoff collection and guidance system, reducing ineffective evaporation and scattered losses of precipitation, and improving rainwater utilization.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The automatic drainage system is the intelligent core of the device. It is ingeniously designed based on the "siphon principle" (i.e., the "fairness cup" principle) in fluid mechanics and combined with the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. It does not require any external power source. When the liquid level in the chamber of the water storage fermentation tank exceeds the preset critical drainage level (i.e., the apex of the inverted U-shaped siphon), or when changes in the external temperature cause a temperature difference between hot and cold in the automatic drainage bend in the chamber, forming a driving airflow, the system automatically starts and smoothly discharges the excess water-fertilizer mixture into the deep sand around the device through the drainage outlet at the bottom, directly moisturizing the plant root area and achieving fully automated, on-demand, and precise irrigation.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The biodegradable composite material contains a variety of trace elements such as iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, calcium, zinc, manganese, copper, boron, and chlorine. During the degradation process, it can continuously replenish nutrients to the desert soil, providing a material basis for soil development and subsequent plant community succession, and completely solving the problem of residual pollution from traditional desertification control materials.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device features a standardized structural design, is suitable for large-scale mechanized operations and high-efficiency deployment, and can build a complete ecological economic industrial chain of "recycled and environmentally friendly material utilization - automated mechanical generation - ecological restoration - agricultural and livestock industry transformation", which can significantly reduce the cost of desertification control.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: The permeable wall of the ⑯ water storage fermentation tank chamber is equipped with micron-level pores, which can preliminarily filter the incoming rainwater, remove impurities such as mud and sand, avoid clogging of the central diversion pipe and automatic drainage system, and ensure long-term stable operation of the device.

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