Abstract
Uniaxial compressive strength experiments were performed on saline loess different water and salt contents, and multiple freeze/thaw cycles at room temperature. The experiments revealed changes to the stress–strain curve and the failure mode of the saline loess. The results indicated that soil strength is intensified or weakened during freezing and thawing due to the injection of sodium sulfate solute. Cyclical freezing and thawing is a process to get a new dynamic equilibrium, and under these experimental conditions, six freeze–thaw cycles are need for loess with sodium sulfate to reach a new dynamic equilibrium.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bing H, He P, Yang C, Shi Y, Zhao S, Bian X (2007) Impact of sodium sulfate on soil frost heaving in an open system. Appl Clay Sci 35:189–193
Bondarenko G, Sadovsky V (1994) Water content effect of the thawing clay soils on shear strength. In: Balkema A (ed) Proceedings of the 7th international symposium on ground freezing, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp 123–127
Broms B, Yao Y (1964) Shear strength of a soil after freezing and thawing. J Soil Mech Found Div Am Soc Civ Eng 90(4):1–26
Chuvilin Y, Yazynin O (1988) Frozen soil macro and micro structure formation. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on permafrost. Tapir Publishers, Trondheim, Norway, pp 320–323
Ono T, Mitachi T (1997) Computer controlled triaxial freeze thaw shear apparatus. In: Balkema A (ed) Proceedings of the 8th international symposium on ground freezing, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp 335–339
Qi J, Vermeer P, Cheng G (2006) A review of the influence of freeze–thaw cycles on soil geotechnical properties. Permafr Periglac Process 17:245–252
Swan C, Greene C (1998) Freeze–thaw effects on Boston blue clay. In: Maher A, Yang D (eds) Proceedings of annual conference on soil improvement for big digs, Am Soc Civil Eng, vol 81, pp 161–176
Velli Y (1980) Foundations on complex permafrost soils. In: US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, SR 80-40 and Building under cold climates and on permafrost: collection of papers from a US-Soviet joint seminar, Leningrad, USSR 204-217
Wang D, Ma W, Chang X, Sun Z, Feng W, Zhang J (2005) Physico-mechanical properties changes of Qinghai-Tibet clay due to cyclic freezing and thawing. Chin J Rock Mech Eng 24(23):4313–4319 (in Chinese)
Xu X, Wang J, Zhang L, Deng Y, Tao Z (1995) Mechanism of frost heave and salt expansion. Science Press, Beijing, p 40 (in Chinese)
Yang C, He P, Cheng G (2003) Testing study on influence of freezing and thawing on dry density and water content of soil. Chin J Rock Mech Eng 22(Suppl):2695–2699 (in Chinese)
Yong R, Boonsinsuk P, Yin C (1985) Alternation of soil behavior after cyclic freezing and thawing. In: Balkema A (ed) Proceedings of the 4th international symposium on ground freezing, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, pp 187–195
Acknowledgments
Funding for this work was provided by National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 40901039) and the West Light Doctoral Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 290928591), the Western Project Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-XB2-10). All support is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bing, H., He, P. Experimental investigations on the influence of cyclical freezing and thawing on physical and mechanical properties of saline soil. Environ Earth Sci 64, 431–436 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0858-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0858-y