The durability of silty clay embankments is partially controlled by the moisture migration, which depends on soil hydraulic properties. This paper presents an experimental study of hydraulic properties of compacted binary silty clay. Specimens with different mixing ratios and dry densities were prepared. Scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry were used to characterise the microstructure of silty clay. Thereafter, falling-head permeability tests and water retention tests were conducted to study the permeability and water retention property, respectively. The results demonstrate that clay particles are dispersed and show preferred arrangements after compaction when the clay content is 100%. As the clay content decreases, the arrangement of clay particles is gradually disturbed because of the existence of silt particles, causing the formation of large pores around silt particles. When the dry density increases, the pores around silt particles significantly decrease. Moreover, the permeability of silty clay decreases but the water retention capacity increases with increasing clay content and dry density. This is because the silty clay with larger clay content and dry density has fewer large pores, which greatly restrains the flow of water. Both the permeability and water retention property of silty clay can be predicted from pore size distribution parameters.

粉质粘土路堤的耐久性部分受水分迁移的控制，而水分迁移取决于土壤的水力特性。本文介绍了压实二元粉质粘土水硬性的实验研究。制备了具有不同混合比和干密度的样品。利用扫描电子显微镜和压汞法表征了粉质粘土的微观结构。此后，分别进行落头渗透性测试和保水性测试以研究渗透性和保水性。结果表明，当粘土含量为100％时，粘土颗粒被分散并显示出压实后的优选排列。随着粘土含量的降低，由于淤泥颗粒的存在，粘土颗粒的排列逐渐受到干扰，导致淤泥颗粒周围形成大孔。当干密度增加时，粉尘颗粒周围的孔明显减少。此外，粉质粘土的渗透性降低，但保水能力随粘土含量和干密度的增加而增加。这是因为具有较高粘土含量和干密度的粉质粘土具有较少的大孔，这极大地限制了水的流动。可以通过孔径分布参数预测粉质粘土的渗透性和保水性。这是因为具有较高粘土含量和干密度的粉质粘土具有较少的大孔，这极大地限制了水的流动。可以通过孔径分布参数预测粉质粘土的渗透性和保水性。这是因为具有较高粘土含量和干密度的粉质粘土具有较少的大孔，这极大地限制了水的流动。可以通过孔径分布参数预测粉质粘土的渗透性和保水性。