This is a two-year collaborative research project between Dr. Ching S. Chang, University of Massachusetts and Professor Yuan Jian-Xin, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Science. This proposal plans to study mechanical behavior of loess and is jointly sponsored by NSF and Chinese Academy of Sciences. China has some of the world's largest and best known loess deposits. The Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics (IRSM), the Chinese Academy of Science, at Wuhan, China has been actively researching the mechanical properties of these soils. It has a large quantity of experimental and field data. Dr. Chang has developed models that can account for many structural features in loess. The data available from the Chinese collaborative institute can validate and improve his models. Both the U.S. and China collaborators can greatly benefit from this collaboration and jointly they can enhance the understanding of the mechanical behavior of such soil.
