Mechanical Properties of a Sand-Ice System

The mechanical properties of a saturated frozen sand were studied using constant axial stress creep tests and constant axial strain-rate tests. Observation of the effects on deformational behavior produced by the addition of sand particles to the ice matrix led to an analysis useful in predicting creep rates for a constant stress and stress levels for a constant strain rate. The relationship between strain rate and stress for polycrystalline ice considers a strain dependent hardening term and a strain energy dependent softening term. Parameters of the equation include stress and temperature. Stress factors, dependent on sand volume concentration and friction and dilatancy of the sand, are used in conjunction with the equation for polycrystalline ice to give predictions of the mechanical behavior of the sand-ice system. These are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.