Influence of micromorphology and water content on the rheological properties and performance evaluation model of loess mudflow

Evaluation of the rheological characteristics of loess mudflow is of great significance to ecological environment protection (by loess, we mean a wind-blown Quaternary silt deposit), and geological disaster assessment in the Loess Plateau of China. Rheological characteristics of rheology for loess mudflow are highly variable due to heterogeneity in particle micromorphology and water content, and current rheological models struggle to reconcile the structural dynamics with the equilibrium behavior of soil at different concentrations and microstructures. A rheological study of loess mudflow for five regions on the Loess Plateau was carried out in this investigation, and the results showed that loess transformed from a solid-like stage to a liquid-like stage under steady loads and exhibited significant shear thinning characteristics and shear rate dependence, in which the shear rate less than 2 s−1 was the main region of loess strength attenuation and the maximum yield stress is about 1411 Pa. A smaller water content and more complex particle micromorphology led to a higher yield stress, but there was no significant correlation between flow index and particle shape and water content. Additional structural dynamics and particle fractal theory were then introduced, providing an improved model that could reconcile the structural dynamics and particle micromorphology of loess with its equilibrium behavior at different water contents and shear stresses. All the test data were distributed around a dimensionless master curve. Considering the difficulty of obtaining rheological parameters, an evaluation criterion containing three levels (clay-rich, silt-rich, and sand-rich) for the evaluation of the rheological properties of loess mudflow was proposed, which can reconcile the test results and models under different working conditions. Such an evaluation criterion can also be applied to soils of other textures, providing a straightforward manner to determine the relevant rheological parameters. The research results provide a theoretical basis for ecological environmental protection and geological disaster assessment in the Loess Plateau region based on rheological characteristics.