Prediction of Soil-Water Characteristic Curve of Compacted Loess With Different Dry Densities Based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Accurate determination of soil-water characteristic (SWCC) is of great importance for understanding the mechanical properties of unsaturated loess. In this study, the compacted loess columns with different dry densities were prepared. Moisture sensor, water potential sensor and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to investigate the SWCC and NMR signals intesity of compacted loess under different dry densities. It has been found that with increasing dry density, the saturated water content and the residual water content gradually decreases, but the decrease in residual water content is smaller, and both can establish a linear relationship with dry density. The NMR results showed that the compacted loess pore volume gradually decreased with increasing dry density. When the dry density increased from 1.45 g/cm3 to 1.55 g/cm3, the pore volume of compacted loess decreased by 14.7%, while when the dry density increased from 1.55 g/cm3 to 1.65 g/cm3, the pore volume of compacted loess decreased by 13.2%. The Van Genuchten (VG) model was used to fit the NMR results and SWCC, and a good corresponding relationship was found between the parameters. Therefore, according to the cumulative NMR intensity parameters, SWCC was predicted under different dry densities and the effect was found very well.