The soil water characteristic curve and microstructure evolution of unsaturated expansive soil improved by microorganisms in Nanning, Guangxi were studied by means of filter paper method and scanning electron microscope imaging (SEM). Based on Fredlung & Xing model, the influence law of different cement content on the soil water characteristic curve of improved expansive soil is proved. According to the analysis of SEM test results, the influence mechanism of MICP method on the engineering characteristics of improved expansive soil is revealed. The results show that with the increase of cement content, the saturated water content and residual water content of the improved expansive soil gradually increased. At the same time, the water stability gradually increased while the air inlet value gradually decreased. The improved expansive soil changes from the superposition of flat particles and flake particles to the contact between spherical particles and flake particles, which indicates that the aggregate increases significantly. With the increase of the content of cement solution, the contact between particles tends to be smooth and the soil pores gradually tend to be evenly distributed. The particle size and microstructure of soil particles was changed and the connection between particles was enhanced in the improved expansive soil. Eventually the strength and water stability of expansive soil were improved. The conclusions above not only provide a theoretical basis for the in-depth study of engineering characteristics of unsaturated expansive soil improved by MICP method, but also offer theoretical evidence for perfecting engineering technology of expansive soil improved by MICP method.

In order to study the influence of microbial content on the engineering properties of expansive soil im-proved by microbially induced calcium carbonate (MICP) method, and to clarify its influence law and mechanism of action, and to provide some theoretical reference for the application of MICP method to expansive soil treatment. Microbial reproduction and their mineralization in expansive soils have been studied. The problems such as moisture content controlling and low calcium content in the process of treating expansive soil with MICP method have been solved by means of adding calcium salt and using optimum moisture content as the control standard of the total amount of bacterial solution and cementation solution. The tests such as compaction, swelling rates and triaxial shear are carried out. The hydrophilicity, compaction, expansibility and strength characteristics of improved expansive soil under different microbial content are analyzed. The results demonstrate that with the increasing of microbial content, the dry density and shear strength of the improved soil are first increased significantly and then tend to be stable gradually. At the same time, the hydrophilicity and expansibility of improved soil are all decreased significantly. The microstructures of improved expansive soil are imaged by scanning electron microscope. Analytic results show that soil particles have been cemented and the pores in the soil have been filled due to microbially induced calcite precipitation. As a result, microstructure characteristics of the soil have been improved. From the microscopic point of view, the improvement mechanism of MICP method on expansive soil has been revealed. The conclusions above laid a theoretical foundation for in-tensive study on the improvement of expansive soil by MICP method. It also provides a new idea for perfecting and expanding the engineering application of expansive soil improvement technology.

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has been a promising method to improve geotechnical engineering properties; however, there are few literatures about the application of the MICP method to improve the strength characteristics of expansive soils with low permeability. In this paper, a series of CD triaxial tests were carried out to investigate the effect of the MICP method on the strength characteristics of the expansive soils. The results show that the shear strength of the specimens increased with the increase in the cementation solution and eventually reached a stable value. The MICP method can significantly improve the shear strength index of the expansive soils. The cohesion of the expansive soils was increased from 29.52 kPa to 39.41 kPa, and the internal friction angle was increased from 20.13° to 29.58°. The stress-strain curves of expansive soil samples improved by the MICP method show a hyperbolic relationship, which is characterized by strain hardening. The hyperbolic model was chosen to describe the stress-strain relationship of the expansive soils improved by the MICP method, and the predicted results were in good agreement with the measured results. Moreover, we performed a scanning electron microscope (SEM) experiment and revealed the mechanism of the MICP method to improve the strength characteristics of expansive soils. The conclusions above can provide a theoretical basis to further study the strength characteristics of improved expansive soils by the MICP method.

Experimental study on one-dimensional consolidation and scanning electron microscope imaging of expansive soil improved by MICP method has been carried out, by using WG type consolidator and electron scanning microscope. Theoretical analysis on microstructure evolution process of improved expansive soil has been carried out based on fractal theory and damage theory. Through the research, the influence mechanism of cementation and filling effect of calcium carbonate precipitation on the microstructure of improved soil samples such as particle size and pore characteristics is revealed. Based on fractal theory, a porosity calculation model of improved expansive soil has been established considering microstructure damage of soil. Furthermore, a fractal calculation theory of consolidation deformation of improved expansive soil has been proposed. The relevant calculation parameters have also been determined. The rationality of this calculation theory is verified by comparing the calculated results with the tested results. With these research results, a theoretical foundation for further research on microstructure evolution of expansive soil improved by MICP method has been laid. A new train of thought for quantitative research on the water stability and swell–shrink characteristics as well as strength characteristics of improved expansive soil has been provided.