The 'Loughborough Loess' Monte Carlo model of soil structure

A major problem encountered with loess deposits is that of structural collapse when loaded and wetted, the process known as hydrocollapse. To elucidate this problem it is beneficial to model the soil at a microstructural level. The 'Loughborough Loess' has been developed as a Monte Carlo computer-based simulation to model soil structure. The simulation creates a random packing, representative of the initial aeolian deposition of loess. From this the influence of particle shape and size on the structure and void ratio are analysed. Secondly, an archetypal soil has been manufactured from crushed sand and clay mineral. This serves to validate the computer simulation and to provide a benchmark for the comparison of worldwide loess deposits. This has been achieved by the manufacture of loess from crushed sand and clay mineral using a recently developed airfall method. Both the artificial and natural loess samples have shown that the computer simulation closely reproduces characteristic initial loess structures with typical void ratios. Further work is currently being undertaken to improve the computer model to take account of three dimensions. The manufactured samples are tested alongside samples of actual loess using double oedometer tests.