Modified hydrophilic polyurethane is a new and effective material for soil and water conservation, which can form a consolidation layer with soil and has achieved more outstanding results in slope management in Pisha sandstone areas. However, the W-OH-Pisha sandstone system can be destroyed by local natural conditions, which seriously affects its consolidation effect on the soil. This paper focuses on the failure mechanism of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone system under dry-wet cycles; it establishes its failure model and provides theoretical guidance on the use of W-OH materials for slope management. Firstly, mechanical and in-situ morphological observations of W-OH solid consolidation under dry-wet cycles were carried out, and the results showed that W-OH solid consolidation at different concentrations only becomes rougher, and their cohesive failure does not occur under dry-wet cycles. Then, the adhesion model and water damage model of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone system were established based on surface energy theory. It was found that the larger the concentration of W-OH, the better the adhesion and spalling resistance performance. Additionally, we used the water stability constant to express the compatibility of W-OH with Pisha sandstones. The results showed that the greater the concentration of W-OH, the greater the water stability constant and the resistance of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone solid consolidation to the dry-wet cycles. Finally, based on the unconfined compressive strength test of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone solid consolidation, the unconfined strength ratio of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone solid consolidation was established as a function of the water stability constant; the unconfined strength ratio of the solid consolidations increases with an increase in the water stability constant. This also verifies the correctness of the W-OH-Pisha sandstone adhesion model and the water damage model.
Keywords: Pisha sandstone; W-OH; dry–wet cycles; failure mechanism.