Abstract:

The immersion strength and residual strength of lime-loess is an operation frequently encountered in subsequent projects, reconstruction projects and analyzing the engineering accident. So there will be an important engineering significance if we work for it. The conventional triaxial test was conducted with forty samples of loess-lime of Lanzhou in China, the immersion strength and residual strength of lime-loess were discussed specially. From these tests results it was found that the residual strength ? R with the confining pressure? 3 appears a linear relationship. This law is similar to rock, because the lime-loess was broken into masses in the period of the residual strength, and the friction effect on the crack face was so similar to the rock.; the strength will decrease after the lime-loess was immersed; but the strength will appear up after a few times immersion; and the strength will remain on a constant volume which is not more than its original strength. In addition,we can't define it brittle materials simply. It is found that the lime'-loess fragility is depended on confining pressure and water content; the loess-lime' fragility will be more evident when the confining pressure become more high. It will be fragility when the water content decrease to a certain value.

Key words: lime-loess, static triaxial test, wet-dry cycling test, residual strength, loess, stress-strain curve