Thaw Settlement and Mechanical Properties of Admixture-Stabilized Frozen Soil
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 2
Abstract
Roads and other infrastructure in Western Alaska are difficult to design and build owing to the high cost of construction materials and the ice-rich permafrost foundation. The present study explores methods to treat locally available frozen materials for satisfactory engineering applications. Stabilizing agents including cement, perlite, nanosilica, and polypropylene fiber (PP-fiber) were used at various mix ratios to treat pulverized frozen silty sand. Subsequently, a suite of laboratory tests was performed on thawed and/or cured specimens to assess the thaw strain, shear-strength parameters, elastic wave velocities, and thermal conductivity of the treated soil. Scanning electron microscopy images were obtained to reveal the microstructure of the stabilized frozen soil. It was found that the addition of cement, perlite, nanosilica, and PP-fiber greatly reduces the thaw strain and improves the shear strength of the stabilized soil. A combination of cement and perlite at 3% each can be very effective and economical in reducing the thaw strain, enhancing the shear strength, and decreasing the thermal conductivity, and is recommended for field trial.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Messrs. Simon A. Evans and Gregory McConnell, civil engineers of Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium at the time of this study, for providing soil data and construction site pictures from Eek, Alaska. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51878069 and 41971076).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 2 • June 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 24, 2019
Accepted: Oct 29, 2019
Published online: Mar 19, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Aug 19, 2020
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