Investigation of freeze/thaw action on earthen structures

The need for constructed facilities in the cold regions of the world has greatly increased interest relative to freeze/thaw action on earthen materials behaviour in geotechnical engineering practice. The large increase in soil strength on freezing has been utilised by engineers in construction of frozen earth structures. The ice becomes a bonding agent, fusing together adjacent soil particles to increase their combined strength and make them impermeable to water seepage. Contrarily, when the temperature is increased to above 0oC, the process of thaw is initiated and the apparent increased strength and bonding is gradually lost. In the practice, earthen structures can be subjected to consecutive cycles of freezing/thawing that may alter the materials performance. This project aims to experimentally investigate the effect of temporal freeze/thaw action on earthen materials behaviour. Cycled soil water retention behaviour of the material will be scrutinised utilising pressure plate apparatus combined with electrical resistivity method. In parallel, it will be developed a methodology to investigate freezing and thawing using the electrical resistivity of the material.