THE INNOVATIVE LABORATORY EQUIPMENT FOR ASSESSMENT OF A FROST HEAVE PHENOMENON OF THE SOILS

Abstract

The impact of the freezing-thawing process on soils, accompanied by frost heaving and changes of physico-mechanical properties and water permeability, leads to a decrease in the reliability of the designed structures such as dams, landfill caps, pavements. The existing apparatuses for the study of frost heaving are systematized according to their purpose (measured parameters), design features and experimental conditions. The authors pointed out the directions for improving laboratory equipment and presented developed innovative equipment for studying both the frost heave and its consequences. The article presents apparatuses for testing of frost-susceptible soils with the ability to manage the freezing front movement and water migration from the thawed to the freezing parts of soil. A laboratory equipment for studying the water permeability of soils along and across the ice lenses in subject to cyclic freezing and thawing is presented. Taking into account the dependence of criteria of frost-susceptibility of soils on experimental conditions, the authors propose a new approach to assessing the impact of frost heave phenomenon on designed structures. According to the approach the preparation of the laboratory research program and the analysis of their results are carried out using data obtained from numerical modeling both of the laboratory equipment and of the designed constructions.