Mechanical and electrical properties of coarse-grained soil affected by cyclic freeze-thaw in high cold regions

Abstract

To evaluate the geotechnical properties of coarse-grained soil affected by cyclic freeze-thaw, the electrical resistivity and mechanical tests are conducted. The soil specimens are prepared under different water contents, dry densities and exposed to 0-20 freeze-thaw cycles. As a result, the stress-strain behavior of the specimen (w =14.0% and ρ_d=1.90 g/cm³) changes from strain-hardening into strain-softening due to the freeze-thaw effect. The electrical resistivity of test specimen increases with the freeze-thaw cycles change, but the mechanical parameters (the unconfined compressive strength q_u and the deformation modulus E) and brittleness index decrease considerably at the same conditions. All of them tend to be stable after 7−9 cycles. Moreover, both the dry density and the water content have reciprocal effects on the freeze-thaw actions. The failure and pore characteristics of specimens affected by freeze-thaw cycles are discussed by using the image analysis method. Then, an exponential function equation is developed to assess the electrical resistivity of specimens affected by the cyclic freeze-thaw. Linear relations between the mechanical parameters and the electrical resistivity of specimens are established to evaluate the geotechnical properties of the soil exposed to freeze-thaw actions through the corresponding electrical resistivity.

Keywords

coarse-grained soil / freeze-thaw cycle / unconfined compressive strength / electrical resistivity / electrical resistivity model

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