Strain rate effect on the strength of frozen silt : Haynes, F D; Karalius, J A; Kalafut, J US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab report RR350, Dec 1975, 27P

Abstract

Uniaxial compression and tension tests were conducted on frozen Fairbanks silt at a temperature of -10 degrees C. A relatively stiff testing machine was operated at a constant displacement rate for each test. The tests showed that compressive strength is very sensitive to strain rate and that tensile strength is relatively insensitive to it. The compressive strength increased ten times over a strain rate range of 1.2 x 10 to the -4 power s to the -1 power to 2.9 s to the -1 power. As was found in other investigations, tangent moduli increased slightly with greater strain rates. The specific energy increased at higher strain rates for compression tests and decreased slightly for tension tests. For increased strain rates, uniaxial compression strength showed no tendency to plateau; nor did the specific energy reach a minimum during uniaxial tensile testing.