Stiffness Evolution in Frozen Sands Subjected to Stress Changes
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
Sampling affects all soils, including frozen soils and hydrate-bearing sediments. The authors monitor the stiffness evolution of frozen sands subjected to various temperature and stress conditions using an oedometer cell instrumented with P-wave transducers. Experimental results show the stress-dependent stiffness of freshly remolded sands, the dominant stiffening effect of ice, creep after unloading, and the associated exponential decrease in stiffness with time. The characteristic time for stiffness loss during creep is of the order of tens of minutes; therefore it is inevitable that frozen soils experience sampling disturbances attributable to unloading. Slow unloading minimizes stiffness loss; conversely, fast unloading causes a pronounced reduction in stiffness probably attributable to the brittle failure of ice or ice-mineral bonding.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the U.S. DOE project on methane hydrates. Additional support was provided by the KAUST endowment. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their insightful comments.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 26, 2016
Accepted: Jan 23, 2017
Published ahead of print: Apr 20, 2017
Published online: Apr 21, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Sep 21, 2017
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