A novel shear strength model for uncompacted loess from microstructure to macro-behavior

A novel shear strength model for uncompacted loess from microstructure to macro-behavior | 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 Article A novel shear strength model for uncompacted loess from microstructure to macro-behavior Yao Zhang, Yixiong Wang, Yu Xi, Xinyu Fan, Chenghao Chen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589215/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Loess, as a typical structural soil, exhibits shear strength characteristics significantly controlled by mesostructural evolution. This study investigates as-built loess in Xi 'an's Chang'an District through systematic triaxial shear tests combined with mercury compression and particle analysis. The research quantitatively reveals the macro-meso mechanical response mechanism of loess under coupled water content and confining pressure. Results demonstrate that as water content increases from 5% to 25%, the shear strength of loess decreases markedly: cohesion drops sharply from 92.52 kPa to 23.76 kPa (a 74.3% reduction), while the internal friction angle decreases from 26.57° to 25.22° with relatively gradual changes. Mesostructural analysis shows that the volume proportion of large and medium pores (diameter ≥ 0.38 µm) decreases significantly with increasing water content. Under 400 kPa confining pressure, this proportion drops from 77.6% at low water content to 50.5% at high water content, while small pore volume increases correspondingly, revealing the structural reconstruction process under combined loading and moisture effects. Based on fractal theory and pore distribution characteristics, a macro-meso correlation model integrating water content, shear stress, and large/meso-pore volume proportion was established. The model achieves an R² value exceeding 0.94 for experimental data fitting, accurately predicting shear strength evolution under various conditions. This study establishes a quantitative mapping relationship between macroscopic strength and mesostructure through physical mechanisms, providing reliable theoretical basis and computational tools for precise prediction and prevention of loess engineering disasters. Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Physical sciences/Materials science Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Shear strength Microstructure Fractal dimension Pore distribution Macro-micro correlation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted 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. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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-8589215","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":577765484,"identity":"fbb0d008-635f-43cd-899c-a49c3a405e08","order_by":0,"name":"Yao 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macro-behavior","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Shear strength, Microstructure, Fractal dimension, Pore distribution, Macro-micro 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This study investigates as-built loess in Xi 'an's Chang'an District through systematic triaxial shear tests combined with mercury compression and particle analysis. The research quantitatively reveals the macro-meso mechanical response mechanism of loess under coupled water content and confining pressure. Results demonstrate that as water content increases from 5% to 25%, the shear strength of loess decreases markedly: cohesion drops sharply from 92.52 kPa to 23.76 kPa (a 74.3% reduction), while the internal friction angle decreases from 26.57\u0026deg; to 25.22\u0026deg; with relatively gradual changes. Mesostructural analysis shows that the volume proportion of large and medium pores (diameter\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;0.38 \u0026micro;m) decreases significantly with increasing water content. Under 400 kPa confining pressure, this proportion drops from 77.6% at low water content to 50.5% at high water content, while small pore volume increases correspondingly, revealing the structural reconstruction process under combined loading and moisture effects. Based on fractal theory and pore distribution characteristics, a macro-meso correlation model integrating water content, shear stress, and large/meso-pore volume proportion was established. The model achieves an R\u0026sup2; value exceeding 0.94 for experimental data fitting, accurately predicting shear strength evolution under various conditions. This study establishes a quantitative mapping relationship between macroscopic strength and mesostructure through physical mechanisms, providing reliable theoretical basis and computational tools for precise prediction and prevention of loess engineering disasters.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A novel shear strength model for uncompacted loess from microstructure to macro-behavior","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-21 20:35:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8589215/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ffc917a7-6172-4ec1-99c1-594bf6144db8","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 21st, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":61469843,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":61469844,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":61469845,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":61469846,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-31T17:54:25+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-21 20:35:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8589215","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8589215","identity":"rs-8589215","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}