Mechanical responses of Ili saline loess to EICP treatment under variable salinity and freeze-thaw conditions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54355/tbus/27897338.6.2.2026.0102Keywords:
EICP, saline loess, compression characteristics, freezing-thaw cyclesAbstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of the enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) method in improving the mechanical properties of saline Loess from Northwest China under different salinity and freeze-thaw conditions. Four different Na2SO4 concentrations (0.16%−3.16%) were used to simulate varying degrees of salinization in the Ili loess, and consolidation tests, unconfined compressive strength tests, and freeze-thaw cycle tests were conducted on both treated and untreated specimens. The results show that in consolidation tests, the effect of EICP treatment on the compressibility of saline loess is significantly modulated by salinity – under low-salinity conditions (≤1.16%), the compression index Cc decreased by up to 19.8%; however, under high-salinity conditions (≥2.16%), Cc actually increased by approximately 17%, indicating a reversal of the cementation effect. Unconfined compressive strength tests and freeze-thaw cycle tests showed that, under low salinity conditions, EICP can effectively enhance particle cementation, increasing strength by 15%−39% and improving freeze-thaw resistance. Under high salinity conditions, however, particularly after undergoing six freeze-thaw cycles, calcium carbonate cementation significantly deteriorated, and the strength of treated specimens was lower than that of untreated specimens. The failure mode gradually evolved from end shear and single shear planes to distributed cracking as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased, ultimately progressing to complete disintegration. In summary, EICP holds engineering potential for reinforcing loess under low salinity conditions; however, in coupled saline-alkali and cold regions, its applicability requires optimized design based on salinity and freeze-thaw conditions.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Kaixin Shi, Li Ma, Xuejun Liu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Xinjiang University
Grant numbers This work was supported by Tianshan Talent Training Program (Grant No. 2023TSYCLJ0055), Xinjiang University “Outstanding Graduate Student Innovation Project” (Grant No. XJDX2025YJS222)
