Investigation on Compressibility and Microstructure Evolution of Intact Loess During Wetting Process

Abstract

Loess is widely deposited in arid and semi-arid areas and is characterized by low dry density, developed pore space, and loose structure, which is not commensurate with that high structural strength and shear strength in the dry state. Many natural phenomena and experimental studies show that intact loess is very sensitive to the change of water content, with slight increases in water content causing a rapid reduction in strength. Abundant information is available in the literature for collapsibility of loess; however, the research on the evolution of loess compressibility during wetting is still minimal, which is very helpful to understand the loess collapsible deformation caused by long-term irrigation. In this paper, the evolution of compressibility of intact loess during wetting are studied by oedometer test, and the microstructure and pore size distribution (PSD) is characterized on intact loess specimens with different water content before and after oedometer tests by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) methods. The results show that the compression index (Cc) and secondary compression index (Cα) of intact loess depend on water content and vertical stress and change abruptly after the vertical stress exceeds the yield stress. The Cα/Cc values of the intact loess are not constant, which increased with the vertical stress to peak and then gradually decreased and tend to 0.025. Both wetting and loading can cause microstructural damage to the intact loess, in which loading leads to the collapse of the overhead structure and transformation from a bimodal PSD into a single PSD, and wetting intensifies the collapse of microstructure to form a compacted interlocking structure and promotes the transformation of medium pores into small pores.

The effect of lanthanum chloride on the electrocrystallization behavior of cobalt and grain refinement in deposition layers

“…As the applied potential increases, the peak current increases, the time required to reach the peak decreases and then the peak current decreases and gradually stabilizes. This phenomenon occurs because the nucleation density of the electrode surface increases, followed by the decrease of the active site on the surface of the deposition layer due to the increase and overlap of the thickness of the diffusion layers [23,37], and the precipitation of ions is mainly controlled by linear diffusion, so the peak current begins to decrease and tends to a stable state [24]. From this phenomenon, it is concluded that the nucleation of cobalt particles on the surface of the cobalt electrode conforms to the three-dimensional growth characteristics under typical diffusion control.…”