Due to the formational environment and climatic variability, granite residual soils with grain-size distribution ranging from gravel to clay undergo multiple drying–wetting cycles. The influences of multiple drying–wetting cycles on the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) and pore-size distribution (POSD) of undisturbed granite residual soils are investigated using the pressure plate test and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-spin relaxation time (T2) distribution measurement, respectively. Results show that the water-retention capacity and air-entry value decrease and pores become more uniform with increasing drying–wetting cycles. After four drying–wetting cycles, the soil reaches a nearly constant state. The POSD change of multiple drying–wetting cycle samples is consistent with the SWCC of the soils. Furthermore, a modified van Genuchten model in terms of cumulative pore volume is used to obtain the best-fit POSD of the drying–wetting cycle samples. The shape and changing tendency of both curves of SWCC and POSD are quite similar and achieved a better correlation. It can be concluded that the SWCC is strongly dependent on the POSD of the soil and NMR T2 relaxometry can be used as an alternative to the assessment of microstructural variation of residual soils subjected to the periodic drying and wetting process.

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An experimental study was conducted to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of an intensely weathered mudstone from Northeast China after wetting–drying (W–D), freezing–thawing (F–T), and wetting–drying–freezing–thawing (W–D–F–T) cycles. These cyclic climatic processes have significant effects on the volume, microstructure, stress–strain behaviour, shear strength, electrical resistivity, and P-wave velocity of the samples. The variation in electrical resistivity exhibits an inverse correlation with the volume change, and a strong relationship can be observed between the electrical resistivity and porosity. The cohesion decreases with increasing number of cycles, while the internal friction angle slightly increases; these relationships can be caused by the presence of cracks and large voids and by the increase in the aggregate size and density during the drying and freezing processes, respectively. Moreover, the W–D–F–T cycles have a greater influence on the shear strength than do either the W–D or F–T cycles. This phenomenon is similar to that observed in the P-wave velocity, and the relationships between the shear strength parameters and P-wave velocity are also explored. This study provides nondestructive methods of predicting the deformation and shear strength of mudstones in seasonally frozen regions.