Correlation Analysis on Frost Heaving Ratio of Subgrade Soil and Plasticity Index under Freeze-thaw Cycles

Three kinds of subgrade soils with different plasticity index are selected from seasonally frozen soil region. Frost heaving ratio of volume and height was performed on the samples exposed to 0 to 8 times closed-system freeze-thaw cycles. The results show that concerning the same kind of soil, the frost heaving ratio increases with the number of freeze-thaw cycles; Frost heaving ratio increases with plasticity index under the same number of freeze-thaw cycles. Multiple nonlinear fitting is adopted for test data. The relationship between frost heaving ratio and plasticity index, freeze-thaw cycles is obtained and shows a good correlation. The relation can provide useful reference for subgrade design and construction in seasonally frozen soil region.