Mudstone is sensitive to moisture

especially under loading coupled effect

its mechanical properties may decrease dramatically. The compression tests were carried out under loading and drying-wetting cycle joint effect to reveal the evolution process of mudstone performance with environment and loading influence. The compacted samples swelled when immerged into water for the first time. But

they would be compressed during drying-wetting cycle process subsequently. Then

pore size analysis testing was performed on compacted mudstone

the pore size distribution curves had two peaks

which corresponded to diameters 0.3 μm and 10 μm

respectively. Pore volumes reduced for drying-wetting cycle and loading joint effect

which was more obviously for large size pores. And

based on swelling testing

compression test and pore size distribution curves

one model about pore-moisture-loading interaction was established. The whole pore volume includes two parts

inter-volume and extra-volume of agglomerate. On the basis

the crushing-filling procedure of mudstone agglomerate was analyzed under drying-wetting cycle

and the mechanism of interaction between mudstone pore-moisture-load was revealed. This research can provide some theoretical references for mudstone subgrade construction.