WATER REDISTRIBUTION IN PARTIALLY FROZEN, SATURATED SILT UNDER SEVERAL TEMPERATURE-GRADIENTS AND OVERBURDEN LOADS

The flux of water and the resultant formation of discrete ice lenses were studied in samples of New Hampshire silt which were saturated and then frozen under different temperature gradients and overburden pressures. A dual energy gamma scanning system was employed to locate the position of the growing ice lens relative to the freezing front. Parameters controlling water flow and the location of the ice lenses were employed to evaluate theories that have been proposed to describe the mechanisms of ice lens formation. The capillary theory was employed to locate the freezing front.