Laboratory fatigue performance of the cement-stabilised loess fabricated using different compaction methods

Abstract

Herein, the fatigue performance of cement-stabilised loess (CSL) designed using two compaction methods were investigated. The reliability of the vertical vibration testing method (VVTM) was verified by comparing the physical properties of the laboratory samples prepared using the VVTM and the proctor compaction test (PCT) and the mechanical properties of the core samples obtained using these methods and from the construction site. Further, the CSL samples fabricated using the two compaction methods were subjected to indirect tensile fatigue tests to establish a fatigue equation. Finally, the influence of the compaction method, compaction degree and cement content on the fatigue performance of CSL was analysed based on the fatigue equation of CSL. Results showed that the correlation between the mechanical strength of the CSL sample prepared using VVTM and the core sample obtained from the construction site is more than 90%. The fatigue equation based on the Weibull distribution can effectively evaluate the fatigue life of CSL. Furthermore, the fatigue performance of VVTM sample is better than PCT sample. The equivalent fatigue life of VVTM sample with 4% cement dosage can be increased by at least 33% compared with PCT sample under the same condition. With the increase of compaction degree or cement content, the fatigue performance is gradually enhanced.