Study on the different compression characteristic of high liquid limit clay and high liquid limit silt on wetting-drying cycles

The change rules of high liquid limit clay and high liquid limit silt on wetting-drying cycles were compared and analyzed by analyzing the test results of the height, mass and compression coefficient of the two soils. The change rules of high liquid limit clay and high liquid limit silt were also studied from the mechanism aspect. From the research results, it can be found that the change rule of mass and height of high liquid limit clay is similar with that of high liquid limit silt. The rate of mass change and height change tend to smooth with the increase in the number of wet and dry cycles in these two soils. The change rule of compression coefficient is also similar in these two soils. After one wetting-drying cycle, the increase rate of the compression coefficient of high liquid limit silt and high liquid limit clay is between 40%~180% and 40%~180%, respectively. The compression coefficient of these two soil tend to smooth after three wetting-drying cycles. The compression coefficient of these two soil tend to be equal after five wetting-drying cycles. But the compression coefficient of high liquid limit silt is less than that of high liquid limit clay in wetting-drying cycles. It also can be found that the wetting-drying cycle is an irreversible process for the two soils.