Abstract:

To obtain the disintegration features of remolded loess and their relation with different factors, we conducted tests on 32 loess samples of different initial water contents and dry densities by self-developed disintegration tester. The relationship curves of disintegration rate respectively vs. dry density, initial water content and effective void ratio are obtained. On the basis of soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC), the effect of pore structure on disintegration property is analyzed. Results show that under the same initial water content, the disintegration rate attenuates exponentially with the increase of dry density, and the attenuation rate linearly increases with the increase of initial water content; while under the same dry density, the disintegration rate shows a tendency of decreasing with the increase of initial water content, but it is not significant. Furthermore, the relationship between disintegration rate and effective void ratio is researched on the basis of the SWCC and the above obtained relationships. Different pore structures are formed in the process of sample preparation, and the distribution of disintegration rate is apparently divided into zones with the effective void ratio of 8% and 22% as dividing lines.

Key words: remolded loess, disintegration rate, pore structure, effective void ratio