Strength Deterioration of Guar Gum-Modified Loess under Freeze-thaw Environments

[Objective] To explore the impact of freeze-thaw environments on the strength of guar gum-modified loess, direct shear test, unconfined compression strength test, Brazilian splitting test, and bender element small-strain test are conducted to examine the strength degradation and deterioration characteristics of guar gum-modified loess before and after freeze-thaw cycles. [Methods] In this experiment, cationic guar gum was selected for specimen preparation. The specimens were subjected to freeze-thaw cycles in a sealed environment. In the bender element tests, a single-pulse sine wave was used as the input signal at a frequency of 1 kHz. The initial arrival method was adopted to determine the travel time, from which the wave velocity was calculated. [Results] After freeze-thaw cycles, the tensile strength, uniaxial compressive strength, and shear strength of guar gum-modified loess decreased, but all remained greater than that of untreated loess subjected to freeze-thaw cycles. The strength degradation of guar gum-modified loess after freeze-thaw cycles was influenced by the coupling effects of water content and guar gum content, with water content having a more pronounced effect than guar gum content. Microscopic analysis revealed that guar gum formed filamentous cement by bonding with water molecules, which linked soil particles and restrained their movement. Consequently, the strength of the modified loess was notably enhanced. However, during the freeze-thaw cycles, the simultaneous damage of the above-mentioned cement and loess particles was the main reason for the more pronounced strength degradation of guar gum-modified loess than that of untreated loess. The shear wave velocity of loess modified by guar gum before and after freeze-thaw cycles was measured using bender element tests. The functional relationships of shear wave velocity with compressive strength and tensile strength of loess were established, revealing a good correlation with uniaxial compressive strength. [Conclusion] The research findings systematically reveal the influence of freeze-thaw action on guar gum soil stabilization technology, and a novel method is proposed to evaluate the strength degradation of modified loess with wave velocity. This provides environmentally friendly materials and new insights for soil stabilization in the loess regions of northwestern China, while offering a theoretical basis for the further application of guar gum in geotechnical engineering.