Macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic action mechanism of hydrogel - modified Yili loess in seasonal frozen region

Macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic action mechanism of hydrogel - modified Yili loess in seasonal frozen region | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic action mechanism of hydrogel - modified Yili loess in seasonal frozen region Zhang Xiaochao, Pei Xiangjun, Li Mingli, Wang Zhaocheng, Chang Ming, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9465925/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background To address the significant geotechnical engineering challenge of stability degradation in loess slopes within the Yili River Valley region induced by seasonal freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles, the study innovatively introduces polymer hydrogel (dosage of 3%) as the modified material. Through systematic macro-scale and micro-scale experiments, the anti-F-T mechanism of hydrogel modified materials was revealed. The Xinjiang Yili loess was used as the study subject, modified samples with the different initial water contents (14.2%, 18.2%, 22.2%) were prepared. F-T cycle tests, standard triaxial shear tests, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) were employed to quantitatively characterize the evolution of mechanical properties and microstructure of the modified soil. Results The mechanical behavior of hydrogel-improved loess undergoes a fundamental transformation, shifting from the brittle "strain softening" of unimproved soil to the ductile "strain hardening", and exhibits the unique "F-T strengthening effect". The shear strength increased by 82.5% after 20 cycles (rising from 269 kPa to 491 kPa), instead of decreasing. Microscopic analyses revealed that the three-dimensional network of hydrogel could buffer 30% - 40% of the frost heave stress and promoted particle rearrangement through the water-holding property, significantly inhcreasing the fractal dimension by 0.05, while the proportion of large pores only marginally increased by 2.51%. Conclusions The research results not only clarify the microscopic mechanism of hydrogel improvement but also provide important theoretical basis and practical guidance for the long-term stability prediction of slope engineering. Polymer hydrogel Yili loess standard triaxial shear tests mechanical properties NMR Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 21 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9465925","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":634120600,"identity":"27b291d9-a276-449b-bf9e-7e411758625e","order_by":0,"name":"Zhang Xiaochao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhang","middleName":"","lastName":"Xiaochao","suffix":""},{"id":634120602,"identity":"1583dbf6-8803-4348-9854-c3f3aae357bb","order_by":1,"name":"Pei Xiangjun","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvbGhgOJf/4xszEzHyBOCx/P4YMPHjYcYOdjb0sgTouchFuyIVALvxzPGQMiHSbBYyaRuOOONJtEzscbbxjs5HQbCGmR7gFqOfPMmE0id7PlHIZkY7MDhLTInDGTSGBjTgZq2SbNw3AgcRtBLRI5YC31bRI5z4jVkpZskNh2mJmN5wwbkVpAgZxwJo2Zjb3N2HKOARF+kW9vbDj4o8KGWb6Z+eGNNxV2cgS1oAAJHiKjBlkLqTpGwSgYBaNgRAAA6A9AkNErAL4AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pei","middleName":"","lastName":"Xiangjun","suffix":""},{"id":634120608,"identity":"4489e77c-f2ed-4ab5-9bda-76492cb68d91","order_by":2,"name":"Li Mingli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Li","middleName":"","lastName":"Mingli","suffix":""},{"id":634120610,"identity":"c7470f25-66a3-4adc-84c3-88bc2be79d0b","order_by":3,"name":"Wang Zhaocheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wang","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhaocheng","suffix":""},{"id":634120615,"identity":"45a7b759-d5f4-4fe4-a62b-ca0dd5783019","order_by":4,"name":"Chang Ming","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chang","middleName":"","lastName":"Ming","suffix":""},{"id":634120616,"identity":"9f6e9b66-c7b3-4022-858f-95f919cdc992","order_by":5,"name":"Jiang Junlin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiang","middleName":"","lastName":"Junlin","suffix":""},{"id":634120617,"identity":"8edc868c-e4b3-440e-a317-418e8e2c1a0e","order_by":6,"name":"Liao Rundong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chengdu University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liao","middleName":"","lastName":"Rundong","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-20 02:53:52","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9465925/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9465925/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108803985,"identity":"7bf51e05-6b0c-43c9-b45c-a21ba6b333cc","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:13:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1678020,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"20260321.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9465925/v1_covered_a845a4b8-c8ab-47fd-8cc4-06ea25b604a6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic action mechanism of hydrogel - 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Through systematic macro-scale and micro-scale experiments, the anti-F-T mechanism of hydrogel modified materials was revealed. The Xinjiang Yili loess was used as the study subject, modified samples with the different initial water contents (14.2%, 18.2%, 22.2%) were prepared. F-T cycle tests, standard triaxial shear tests, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) were employed to quantitatively characterize the evolution of mechanical properties and microstructure of the modified soil.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults \u003c/strong\u003eThe mechanical behavior of hydrogel-improved loess undergoes a fundamental transformation, shifting from the brittle \"strain softening\" of unimproved soil to the ductile \"strain hardening\", and exhibits the unique \"F-T strengthening effect\". The shear strength increased by 82.5% after 20 cycles (rising from 269 kPa to 491 kPa), instead of decreasing. 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