Stress - Strain characteristics of frozen silty and clayey soils

Abstract

Presence of ground water is a serious problem for cohesive soils in many geotechnical projects. Ground water decreases the bearing capacity of soil layer. However, water can be used as a cementitious material in case of frozen situation with artificial ground freezing. Freezing procedure of cohesive specimens takes long time than non-cohesive soils within the results of chemical binding between cohesive layers. In this study, silty and clayey cylindrical specimens, having optimum water content, are subjected to unconfined compression tests after 7, 14 and 28 days freezing periods inside the CDF-CIF freezing machine and liquid nitrogen vessel. Stress - strain behaviors and ultimate strength of specimens are determined under speedy thawing process. Effects of cohesion and freezing periods on the focused parameters are evaluated. Copyright © 2015 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).