| Abstract: | In recent years, the acceleration of urbanization in loess areas has prompted frequent dismantling and reconstruction of old urban areas. Demolition and reconstruction of buildings involve multiple collapses of the foundation. To study microstructure evolution of loess under multiple collapsibility, this paper selects undisturbed loess samples from Guyuan, Northwest China for multiple compression tests. Using nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) imaging and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) as auxiliary methods, a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses was used to study the microstructure of loess samples before and after various number of collapses under different pressures. Results show that the loess does undergo multiple collapse under 200 kPa pressure. Pore is an important reason for loess collapse. The initial collapse comes primarily from the compression of macropores and mesopores, and the second collapse comes primarily from mesopore compression. The compression process of loess can be roughly divided into two stages. First, under the action of dissolution and compression, the relative displacement of soil particles occurs. Macropores and mesopores are destroyed first, generating small pores. Second, with increasing pressure and times of collapses, pore compression gradually transforms into small pore compression. During the first collapse, particle aggregates disintegrate due to water and pressure. However, with increasing times of collapses, the contact relationship between particles gradually changes from the point contact to face contact. Loess particles tend to gradually become rounded. The study of the microstructure provides the possibility to further reveal the mechanism of multiple collapsibility of loess. |
