Mechanical Behavior of Soil Subjected to Freezing-Thawing Cycles

The behavior of frozen soil has drawn significant attention in recent years, particularly its response when subjected to cyclic freezing-thawing. However, the mechanical behavior of frozen soils under freezing-thawing cycles is not very well understood yet, and the existing models are quite limited to describe the complex response of this material. Results from cyclic freezing-thawing laboratory tests with silt samples are presented here. The tests were conducted based on an open system, under different mechanical conditions in a controlled environment. The experiments shows the response of this soil in terms of volume changes when is subjected to freeze-thaw cycles.