Influences of soil moisture and salt content on loess shear strength in the Xining Basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Moisture and salt content of soil are the two predominant factors influencing its shear strength. This study aims to investigate the effects of these two factors on shear strength behavior of loess in the Xining Basin of Northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where such geological hazards as soil erosion, landslides collapse and debris flows are widespread due to the highly erodible loess. Salinized loess soil collected from the test site was desalinized through salt-leaching in the laboratory. The desalinized and oven-dried loess samples were also artificially moisturized and salinized in order to examine how soil salinity affects its shear strength at different moisture levels. Soil samples prepared in different ways(moisturizing, salt-leaching, and salinized) were measured to determine soil cohesion and internal friction angle. The results show that salt-leaching up to 18 rounds almost completely removed the salt content and considerably changed the physical components of loess, but the soil type remained unchanged. As salt content increases from 0.00% to 12.00%, both the cohesion and internal friction angle exhibit an initial decrease and then increase with salt content. As moisture content is 12.00%, the salt content threshold value for both cohesion and internal friction angle is identified as 3.00%. As the moisture content rises to 16.0% and 20.00%, the salt content threshold value for cohesion is still 6.00%, but 3.00% for internal friction angle. At these thresholds soil shear strength is the lowest, below which it is inversely related to soil salinity. Beyond the thresholds, however, the relationship is positive. Dissimilar to salinity, soil moisture content exerts an adverse effect on shear strength of loess. The findings of this study can provide a valuable guidance on stabilizing the engineering properties of salinized loess to prevent slope failures during heavy rainfall events.

Salt-Water Dynamics in Soils: II. Effect of Precipitation on Salt-Water Dynamics

Through a simulation test carried out with soil columns (61.8 cm in diameter), the effect of precipitation on salt-water dynamics in soils was studied by in-situ monitoring of salt-water dynamics using soil salinity sensors and tensiometers. The results show that in the profile of whole silty loam soil, the surface runoff volume due to precipitation and the salt-leaching role of infiltrated precipitation increased with the depth of ground water; and in the profile with an intercalated bed of clay or with a thick upper layer of clay, the amount of surface runoff was greater but the salt-leaching role of precipitation was smaller than those in the profile of whole silty loam soil. In case of soil water being supplemented by precipitation, the evaporation of groundwater in the soil columns reduced, resulting in a great decline of salt accumulation from soil profile to surface soil. The effect of precipitation on the water regime of soil profile was performed via both water infiltration and water pressure transfer. The direct infiltration depth of precipitation was less than 1 m in general, but water pressure transfer could go up to groundwater surface directly.