Comprehensive strength deterioration model of compacted loess exposed to drying-wetting cycles

The strength deterioration of compacted loess caused by drying–wetting cycles is influenced by various factors. In this paper, the influence of dry density (ρ), drying–wetting amplitude (A), and lower bounds of drying–wetting cycles (wl) on strength deterioration of compacted loess due to drying–wetting cycles was studied through triaxial tests and environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). By fitting a hyperbolic function to the deterioration data, the influence of ρ, A, and wl on the maximum deterioration rate and the development speed of the deterioration of strength parameters were quantitatively analyzed. Accordingly, a compacted loess deterioration model (CLDM) that comprehensively considers the influencing factors was established. Finally, based on Python, the CLDM was applied to finite element software ABAQUS, and the stability of a loess fill slope after exposure to drying–wetting cycles was analyzed. Analysis results show that the CLDM is capable of simulating the effect of drying–wetting cycles on the stability of fill slopes.