Fig 1.
Damage of loess collapsibility.
(A) Cascade sinkhole caused by loess collapsibility; (B) Loess highway collapse; (C) Loess slope landslide.
Fig 2.
Map of sampling locations for Malan loess on the loess plateau.
Table 1.
Basic physico-mechanical indices of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
Fig 3.
Schematic workflow of sample preparation and testing for Malan loess with different particle sizes.
Fig 4.
Particle size distribution of loess.
(A) sandy loess (Jingbian County, northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau); (B) silty loess (Yan’an City, central Chinese Loess Plateau); (C) clayey loess (Jingyang County, southern Chinese Loess Plateau).
Fig 5.
Test results of loess minerals with different clay content.
(A) Jingbian sandy loess (Jingbian County, northwestern Chinese Loess Plateau) A: Quartz; B: Albite; C: Muscovite; D: Calcite; (B)Yan’an silty loess (Jingyang County, southern Chinese Loess Plateau) A: Quartz; B: Albite; C: Muscovite; D: Calcite; (C)Jingyang clayey loess (Jingyang County, southern Chinese Loess Plateau) A: Quartz; B: Albite; C: Muscovite; D: Calcite; E: Kaolinite.
Fig 6.
Collapsibility coefficient of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
(A) Curves of collapsibility coefficient varying with axial pressure and sample schematic diagram; (B) Comparison chart of curves showing the relationship between collapsibility coefficient and axial pressure.
Fig 7.
Microstructure characteristics of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
(A) Particle morphology; (B) Clay particle distribution; (C) Interparticle contact; (D) Interparticle porosity.
Fig 8.
Microstructural changes of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
(A)Undisturbed sandy loess; (B)Collapsible sandy loess; (C)Undisturbed silty loess; (D)Collapsible silty loess; (E)Undisturbed clayey loess; (F)Collapsible clayey loess.
Table 2.
Pore area ratio of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
Fig 9.
Pore direction frequency and fractal dimension of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
(A) Pore direction frequency; (B) Fractal dimension of pores after collapsibility of sand loess; (C) Fractal dimension of particles after collapsibility of sand loess; (D) Curves of pore and particle fractal dimensions varying with sample type; (E) Comparison chart of curves of pore and particle fractal dimension changes.
Fig 10.
Generalized collapse model of Malan loess with different particle sizes.
(A) Jingbian sandy loess; (B) Yan’an silty loess; (C) Jingyang clayey loess.