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Improvements in Frost Heave Laboratory Testing of Fine-Grained Soils |
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| Authors: | Margaret M. Darrow Scott L. Huang Yuri Shur Satoshi Akagawa |
| Affiliation: | 1Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mining and Geological Engineering, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755800, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5800. E-mail: ffmmd@uaf.edu 2Professor, Dept. of Mining and Geological Engineering, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755800, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5800. 3Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755900, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5900. 4Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan. |
| Abstract: | We present a laboratory system designed for studying frost heave in fine-grained soil. The system consists of: a modified refrigerator, a frost heave test cell, a laser for measuring heave, a differential pressure transducer for measuring water intake, and platinum resistance temperature detectors for measuring pedestal temperatures. The frost heave cell allows for visual observation of the sample, and accommodates pretest sample consolidation, freezing tests using a variety of freezing methods, triaxial tests on frozen soil, and thaw consolidation tests. The modified refrigerator maintains the specified temperature ±0.5°C during the full length of the test. Test results indicate repeatability of frost heave ratios ξ to within ±7%, and average heave rates to within ±0.05?mm/h. Results from frost heave tests conducted on five fine-grained soils indicate that: (1) a soil removed of its colloidal organic content becomes less frost susceptible; (2) the geomorphologic history of a “regional” soil is a critical factor influencing its frost susceptibility; and (3) ξ is dependent on overall clay content and is most sensitive to chlorite content. |
| Keywords: | Frost heave Clays Laboratory tests Fine-grained soils |