Study on Microstructure of Malan Loess by SEM

The structure is the main factor of loess collapsibility. Whether the collapsible deformation of loess can occur completely depends on whether the structural strength can be lost and the degree of loss. The microstructure of Malan loess was analyzed by scanning electron microscope, and the images with magnification of 500 and 1000 were obtained from three different angles. Through analysis, it is concluded that the structure of the loess soil sample is granular. The mechanism of microstructure changes of Malan loess after encountering water was revealed. The particles are mostly plate-like, long-columnar, sub-angular, partially sub-circular, mostly single-particle structure, with a small number of particles. The contact between particles is mainly point-to-point contact, point-angle contact, and a small number of point-to-point contacts. Macroscopically, the soil becomes dense. Microscopically, the point-to-point contact with relatively large friction between particles has changed into the face-to-surface contact with less friction.