Abstract: In this study, one-dimensional consolidation creep tests were conducted to study the influence of sand content on the consolidation creep behavior of sand-fines mixtures in front of the check dams in the Loess Plateau of central Ningxia, and the influence mechanism of sand content on its creep properties was investigated according to the mercury intrusion tests. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the Yin-Graham isochronic elastic-viscoplastic model, an empirical creep model, which took into account the finiteness of creep under one-dimensional conditions and the attenuation of the creep coefficient, was developed to capture the stress-strain-time relationship of sand-fines mixtures. The results show that when sand content is less than 28.57%, there is a negative correlation between sand content and secondary consolidation coefficient and secondary consolidation deformation, and the creep behaviors of sand-fines mixtures are controlled by fine particles; when sand content is greater than 28.57%, the secondary consolidation coefficient and secondary consolidation deformation gradually increase with the increase in sand content, and the creep properties of sand-fines mixtures are similar to that of sandy soil. The predicted curves of the proposed model are in good agreement with the strain-time curves of one-dimensional creep tests, indicating that it is suitable for characterizing the creep characteristics of sand-fines mixtures under one-dimensional conditions

Key words: sand-fines mixtures, sand content, one-dimensional consolidation creep, empirical model