Abstract: A widely distributed salinized silt in Northwest China exhibits the physical characteristics of both low-liquid-limit silt and saline soil, yet its long-term deformation behavior remains insufficiently understood. A series of uniaxial creep tests were conducted to investigate its creep properties under varying conditions of salt content, dry density, moisture content, and overburden stress. Test results indicate that, compared to salt-free soil, the creep rate of salinized silt accelerates significantly with increasing salt content, demonstrating more pronounced nonlinear creep characteristics. The final strain of the salt-washed soil was 10%, which increased to 14% at a salt content of 6.4%. To more accurately characterize the soil’s creep behavior, the classical creep models were modified, leading to the proposal of two new models: an integer-order model and a fractional-order model. Comparative analysis between the experimental data and the improved models shows that both proposed models describe the actual deformation characteristics more accurately than the classical creep model. However, the integer-order model lacks refinement in describing the decay creep stage, whereas the fractional-order model demonstrates superior accuracy in capturing the detailed features of all creep stages and is therefore recommended for effectively predicting the creep behavior of salinized silt.

Key words: salinized silt, creep test, fractional-order component model, Abel bomb pot, stress-strain isochronous curve