Effect of soluble salt content on water-holding characteristics of Ili loess

The loess in Ili valley region of Xinjiang have great differences from that in Loess Plateau, mainly characterized by different causes, strong collapsibility and high soluble salt content. The researches on the engineering properties of Ili loess are the need for the development of loess mechanics and the building of Belt and Road. The water-holding characteristics of Ili loess under different soluble salt contents are studied by centrifuge modeling. The water-holding characteristics of Ili loess and Loess Plateau are compared, and the soil water characteristic curves are fitted and analyzed. Based on the Gardner model, a soil water characteristic curve model with soluble salt content is proposed. The results indicate that the content of soluble salt has a certain influence on the matrix suction. The change of matrix suction mainly occurs in the boundary effect zone and transition zone. Compared with Loess Plateau loess with the same density, Ili loess has strong water-holding capacity under high saturation, and with the decrease of saturation, the soil water characteristic curve tends to be consistent.