Compressive strength behavior of fine-grained frozen soils

Abstract

Constant strain-rate (0.01/s) uniaxial compression-strength tests were conducted on more than 200 saturated samples of six fine-grained frozen soils at temperatures between −5 and −17 °C. Saturated soil samples containing total water contents between 15% and 105% were prepared using a consolidation apparatus specially designed for this purpose. The effect of dry unit weight, total water content, temperature, and soil type on the behavior of peak compressive strength was studied. Test results indicate the peak compressive strength of fine-grained soils is sensitive to changes in the dry unit weight and the total water content. The temperature dependence of the peak compressive strength is represented by a simple power law. An empirical formula has been developed to predict the peak compressive strength of fine-grained frozen soils at a particular temperature using index properties, specific surface area, particle-size distribution, and dry unit weight. A linear relationship exists between the peak compressive stress and the yield stress. Key words: peak compressive strength, yield stress, frozen soils, fine-grained soils, dry unit weight, failure strain, temperature, total water content, slurry consolidation.