Usually, the collapsible loess widely distributed across the world can serve as a type of foundation soil that meets its strength requirement after dense compaction and elimination of collapsibility. However, many pro...Usually, the collapsible loess widely distributed across the world can serve as a type of foundation soil that meets its strength requirement after dense compaction and elimination of collapsibility. However, many problems such as cracks and differential settlement still occur in loess roads in the seasonally frozen ground regions after several years of op- eration. Many studies have demonstrated that these secondary or multiple collapses primarily result from the repeated freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles. Therefore, we conducted a research program to (1) monitor the in-situ ground temperatures and water content in certain loess roads to understand their changes, (2) study the effects of freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles on geotechnical properties and micro-fabrics of compacted loess in the laboratory, and (3) develop mitigative measures and examine their engineered effectiveness, i.e., their thermal insulating and water-proofing effects in field and laboratory tests. Our results and advances are reviewed and some further research needs are proposed. These findings more clearly explain the processes and mechanisms of secondary and multiple collapse of loess roads. We also offer references for further study of the weakening mechanisms of similar structural soils.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (No. 2012CB026106)the Science and Technology Major Project of Gansu Province (No. 143GKDA007)+2 种基金the West Light Foundation of CAS for Dr. G. Y. Lithe Program for Innovative Research Group of the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41121061)the Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soils Engineering of CAS (No. SKLFSE-ZT-11)
文摘Usually, the collapsible loess widely distributed across the world can serve as a type of foundation soil that meets its strength requirement after dense compaction and elimination of collapsibility. However, many problems such as cracks and differential settlement still occur in loess roads in the seasonally frozen ground regions after several years of op- eration. Many studies have demonstrated that these secondary or multiple collapses primarily result from the repeated freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles. Therefore, we conducted a research program to (1) monitor the in-situ ground temperatures and water content in certain loess roads to understand their changes, (2) study the effects of freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles on geotechnical properties and micro-fabrics of compacted loess in the laboratory, and (3) develop mitigative measures and examine their engineered effectiveness, i.e., their thermal insulating and water-proofing effects in field and laboratory tests. Our results and advances are reviewed and some further research needs are proposed. These findings more clearly explain the processes and mechanisms of secondary and multiple collapse of loess roads. We also offer references for further study of the weakening mechanisms of similar structural soils.