Collapsible loess on the Loess Plateau of China

Abstract

Collapsible and non-collapsible loess are discriminated in the Chinese context, a coefficient of collapsibility <0.015 indicating the latter condition. Experiments designed to elucidate the collapsibility in the field are described. Only when the pressure necessary to initiate collapse exceeds the residual stress does shearing occur between silt grains with consequent collapse. This pressure increases with depth. The collapse process in wetted, hand-dug pits shows three stages: gradual (plastic deformation), rapid collapse, and protracted, attenuating collapse. -from Authors