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The mechanical behaviour of clayey loess is strongly affected by the soil structure, but although anisotropy has been identified in loess by some, the anisotropy of small-strain behaviour is rarely reported. This paper presents an experimental study on the inherent and stress-induced small-strain shear stiffness anisotropy of a clayey loess from China. Both undisturbed and reconstituted specimens were tested with bender elements under isotropic compression and shearing conditions. Under an isotropic stress state, an inherent anisotropy was found for undisturbed specimens, while the reconstituted specimens prepared by moist tamping behaved isotropically. During shearing, the ratio of horizontal to vertical shear moduli of the undisturbed specimens decreased due to both an increase of stress anisotropy and the destruction of the intact structure. In contrast, the stiffness ratio of the reconstituted specimens only decreased due to stress anisotropy and it became more anisotropic at the critical state. This study reveals the influence of intact structure and inherent anisotropy on the behaviour of loess soils, which cannot be reproduced by compaction, thus highlighting the importance of characterising the undisturbed loess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loess is a typical silt-sized Aeolian soil that is widely deposited and possesses a fragile soil structure susceptible to collapse upon wetting. The instability of shallow loess slopes is well documented, but deeper failures triggered by rainfall and irrigation can also occur. In the case of long-term seepage, clay particles and salts have been observed to leach out of the loess slopes. This paper presents a systematic laboratory study of the effects of water conditions on the mechanical behaviour of silty loess, with isotropic compression and bender element tests carried out on natural and reconstituted loess recovered at 10 m depth from a site in China. The results show that saturation causes reduction in both the compression yield stress and small strain stiffness of the soil, and that after being exposed to seepage, they decrease further. The possible mechanism of structure degradation is investigated by means of microscopic and chemical analyses, and it is found that seepage will cause the pore ions concentration to reduce with a loss of clay mineral bonding strength, resulting in the detachment of silt particles from aggregates. This work highlights the importance of monitoring the water outflow in the field at the loess slope edge, since it may causes large deformation in the long-term. • The effects of three different water conditions on the mechanical behaviour of a silty loess are studied. • Isotropic compression together with bender element tests is carried out on loess specimens. • The possible mechanism of structure degradation induced by seepage is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]