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An experimental study for evaluation of collapsible loess roadbed replacement method using lightweight soil

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Abstract

Water is one of the most significant variables that contribute to loess collapse, hence in collapsible loess areas, stringent waterproofing measures are frequently employed to limit loess roadbed collapse. During the construction of roads in sponge city, the roadbed must have natural-like permeability and water retention capacities to assure normal permeation and retention of rainwater. These capacities are contradictory with the collapse of the loess roadbed. This research proposes a collapsible loess roadbed replacement method based on optimized lightweight soil with cotton stalk fibers (LSCF) to overcome this contradiction. The optimization of the LSCF mixture ratio was based on density, unconfined compressive strength, and permeability tests. The optimized LSCF has a low density (1.05 g/cm3), sufficient strength (178.43 kPa), and similar permeability to natural loess (4.03 × 10−6 cm/s). In addition, a method for calculating replacement depth and the corresponding replacement construction processes were developed. Three methods, including theory calculation, centrifugal model test, and practical field demonstration, were used to further evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed replacement method. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the replacement method effectively reduces the self-weight collapsibility settlement (more than 20%) and maintains good permeability and water retention capacity of the loess site. The research findings provide engineering recommendations for sponge city roadbed treatment in collapsible loess areas.

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Data availability

The data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

a, b, d, k :

Fitting parameters

g :

Gravitational acceleration

d s :

Relative density of particle

h :

Depth of the soil

h i :

Thickness of layer i

h i′:

Thickness of layer i after replacement

p :

Collapsibility coefficient

p z :

Saturated self-weight pressure

p z′:

Saturated self-weight pressure after replacement

p zi :

Saturated self-weight pressure of the layer i

p zi′:

Saturated self-weight pressure of layer i after replacement

p zmi :

Accumulated saturated self-weight pressure of the layer i

p zmi′:

Accumulated saturated self-weight pressure of layer i after replacement

p 0 :

Standard atmospheric pressure

β 0 :

Modified coefficient

δ sp :

Self-weight collapsibility coefficient

δ zsi :

Self-weight collapsibility coefficient of layer i

δ zsi′:

Self-weight collapsibility coefficient of layer i after replacement

ρ i :

Natural density of layer i

ρ 85 %i :

Density of layer i at 85% saturation

w i :

Natural water content of layer i

Δzs :

Self-weight settlement collapsibility

Δzs′:

Self-weight collapsibility settlement after replacement

Δzsi :

Self-weight collapsibility settlement of layer i

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number: 51978572]; the Key Research and Development Projects in Shaanxi Province, China [grant number: 2017ZDXM-SF074]; and the Research Program for Key Technologies of Sponge City Construction and Management in Guyuan City [grant number: SCHM-2018].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    **fang Hu, Wenyuan Ren, Aijun Zhang, Wen**g Mi, Zhichao Liang & **wen Han

  2. Institute of Water Engineering Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430000, Hubei, China

    **fang Hu

  3. JIKAN Research Institute of Engineering Investigations and Design, Co., Ltd, **’an, 710000, Shaanxi, China

    Hongtai Liu

  4. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Wenyuan Ren & Aijun Zhang

  5. College of Urban and Rural Planning and Architectural Engineering, Shangluo University, Shangluo, 726000, Shaanxi, China

    Wen**g Mi

  6. Department of Construction and Campus Planning, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Liang Pan & Haobo **e

  7. Power China Hubei Electric Engineering Co., Ltd, Wuhan, 430000, Hubei, China

    Tao Yang

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  1. **fang Hu
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Correspondence to Wenyuan Ren.

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Hu, J., Liu, H., Ren, W. et al. An experimental study for evaluation of collapsible loess roadbed replacement method using lightweight soil. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 359 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03376-0

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