Field Tests on Deformation Property of Self-Weight Collapsible Loess with Large Thickness
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 14, Issue 3
Abstract
To study the deformation property of large-thickness self-weight collapsible loess and to understand the moisture migration law and matrix suction characteristics, a 40-m-diameter soaking test was conducted in the field with self-weight collapsible loess at a thickness of 36.5 m. The results showed that (1) the field collapse deformation law of the large-thickness self-weight collapsible loess varied in two periods, namely, the soaking period and the water cutoff period; (2) during the soaking test, the distribution of crack patterns appeared from local to overall, from near to far, and from dense to sparse, then gradually extended; (3) the volumetric moisture content changed in different soil locations; (4) suction developed steadily before soaking, whereas with a large amount of water, suction dropped steeply within a short time; and (5) the water content of soil above 20 to 25 m increased rapidly and soon reached saturation, whereas the water content of soil below that depth increased slowly and reached saturation with difficulty. The test results may be useful for similar projects in the area of self-weight collapsible loess with large thickness, and to help revise Chinese codes for building construction in collapsible loess regions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the science and technology plan projects of housing and rural construction of Gansu province (Grant No. JK2011-19) and the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu province (Grant No. 1208RJZA284).
References
Chen, Z., and Liu, Z. (1986). “Mechanism of collapse deformation of loess.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 8(2), 1–12.
Chen, Z., Xu, Z., and Liu, Z. (1986). “Some problems of collapsed loess.” China Civil Eng. J., 19(3), 62–69.
Dudley, J. H. (1970). “Review of collapsing soils.” J. Soil Mech. and Found. Div., 96(3), 925–947.
Heusser, J. C., and Claraz, G. (1865). “Essai pour servir a une description physique et geognostique de la province Argentine de Buenos Ayres.” Memorie Societé Helvetique Science Naturelles, 21, 139–142 (in French).
Li, D., He, Y., and Sui, G. (1993). “A large area field immersion test research on loess Q2.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 15(2), 1–11.
Liu, M. (1985). “Intermittence immersion test of collapsed loess.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 7(1), 47–54.
Liu, Z. (1997). Mechanics and engineering of loess, Shanxi Science and Technology Press, Xi’an, China.
Miao, T., Liu, Z., and Ren, J. (1999). “Deformation mechanism and constitutive relation of collapsed loess.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 21(4), 383–387.
Qian, H., et al. (1985). Collapsed loess foundation, China Architecture and Building Press, Beijing.
Qian, H., Zhu, M., and Xie, S. (1992). “Experimental study on the regularities of collapsible deformation of loess foundation in Hejin, Shanxi.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 14(6), 1–9.
Shen, Z., and Hu, Z. (2003). “Duality medium model of loess.” Chin. J. Hydraul. Eng., 25(7), 1–6.
Xie, D. (2001). “Exploration of some new tendencies in research of loess soil mechanics.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 23(1), 3–13.
Zhang, S., and Zhang, W. (1992). “Collapsibility of loess during moistening and de-moistening process.” Chin. J. Geotech. Eng., 14(1), 57–61.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 29, 2012
Accepted: May 21, 2013
Published online: Mar 14, 2014
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 14, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.