Geo-Congress 2020
Freezing-Thawing Effect on Saturated Clay Microstructure
Publication: Geo-Congress 2020: Geo-Systems, Sustainability, Geoenvironmental Engineering, and Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (GSP 319)
ABSTRACT
The mechanical behavior of clays is altered when it is exposed to freezing-thawing cycles. Freezing-thawing results in volume change increasing the clay permeability. While there are numerous macroscale experiments to prove the evolution of the mechanical behavior of clay, limited amount of microscale experiments exist to evaluate the microfabric changes in clay. In this study, six specimens were subjected to temperature changes using a thermo-mechanical triaxial apparatus under single drainage and double drainage boundary conditions to mimic the natural drainage conditions of clay deposits. The specimens were then freeze-dried to preserve their microstructure before and after thermal paths. Moreover, the specific surface area of each specimen was approximated using N2-gas sorption method and BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) analysis. Finally, macro-scale behavior of frozen-thawed clays was justified by the evolution of microstructure. Experimental results suggest that access to free water has a significant impact on the thermal behavior of clays during freezing and thawing.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This material is based upon work supported by the U. S. Army Research Laboratory and the U. S. Army Research Office under contract numbers W911NF-16-1-0336, W911NF-17-1-0262, and W911NF-18-1-0068. The discussions and conclusions presented in this work reflect the opinions of the authors only.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Geo-Congress 2020: Geo-Systems, Sustainability, Geoenvironmental Engineering, and Unsaturated Soil Mechanics (GSP 319)
Pages: 40 - 48
Editors: James P. Hambleton, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Roman Makhnenko, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Aaron S. Budge, Ph.D., Minnesota State University, Mankato
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8282-7
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Feb 21, 2020
Published in print: Feb 21, 2020
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Clays
- Cold regions engineering
- Drainage
- Engineering mechanics
- Freeze and thaw
- Frozen soils
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Irrigation engineering
- Materials characterization
- Materials engineering
- Microstructure
- Saturated soils
- Soft soils
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soils (by type)
- Thermal properties
- Thermodynamics
- Water and water resources
Authors
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