Frost heave and dry density changes during cyclic freeze‐thaw of a silty clay

Abstract

AbstractOpen‐system frost heave tests were performed on a silty clay using a lower boundary condition of +2°C and unidirectional freezing at −10°C from the surface, or freezing and thawing with an upper boundary temperature that cycled from −10°C to +10°C or from −10°C to 0°C. The amount of frost heave, the distribution of moisture at the end of the experiment and the final dry density profiles all differed for the three cases. The experiments demonstrate that freeze‐thaw history is important in assessing or predicting the frost heave of silty clays. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.