Structural characteristic is a basic property of loess

and there is a connection between loess collapsibility and its structure. This paper aims at studying how freeze-thaw action affects loess collapsibility with different structural characteristics. A series of collapsibility experiments was performed on artificially structured loess

undisturbed loess and remolded loess

with the use of cement as connection medium among soil particles to prepare artificially structured loess samples. Experimental results show that the collapsibility coefficient of artificially structured loess is less than that of the undisturbed loess and remolded loess before and after freezing-thawing process. The collapsibility coefficient decreases with the increase of cement content. After freezing-thawing

the collapsibility coefficients of most loess samples increase. Especially

for remolded loess and artificially structured loess with low cement content

the increase of collapsibility coefficient is more evident when the water content is close to the optimum water content. Moreover

the increase of collapsibility coefficient is also closely related to the initial structure

water content

dry density and vertical load. Regarding undisturbed loess and remolded loess

a significant negative linear correlation is found between the collapsibility coefficient and unit weight under standard load

200 kPa. However

for artificially structured loess

it is not the case. Furthermore

for remolded loess and artificially structured loess with 5% cement content

there is a good logarithmic relationship between the collapsibility coefficient and number of freeze-thaw circle under a load of 50 kPa. Also

further research is needed to study whether the original loess can be replaced by artificially structured loess mixed with cement to reflect the collapsibility of structural loess.