Experimental study on erosion resistance and ecological slope protection of guar gum-treated fiber-reinforcement loess

To improve the hydraulic characteristics of the fiber-reinforced loess, maintain the long-term stability of the loess slope, and promote the full play of the vegetation protection, the guar gum is used to cure the fiber-reinforced loess. The erosion resistance and the soil-water conservation capability of loess under different treatment methods are compared and analyzed by carrying out the direct shear tests, disintegration tests, penetration tests, soil-water characteristic tests and ecological slope protection tests. The results show that the addition of guar gum can significantly improve the erosion resistance and the soil-water conservation capability of fiber-reinforced loess. With the increase of guar gum content or curing age, the shear strength increases first and then decreases or stabilizes, and both the disintegration rate and the saturation permeability coefficient decrease first and then stabilize. The optimal guar gum content and curing age are 1.0% and 14 d. The optimally processed guar gum-treated fiber-reinforcement loess has better water retention capability, showing the excellent ecological slope protection effect under natural atmospheric rainfall conditions. The curing treatment of guar gum can promote fiber reinforcement, fill pores, bond loess particles, comprehensively improve the mechanical and hydraulic properties of the fiber-reinforced loess, and play a positive role in the process of engineering safety construction and soil-water conservation on the Loess Plateau.