Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on triaxial strength properties of fiber-reinforced clayey soil

Abstract

Understanding effect of freezing phenomenon in a fiber-reinforced soil structure is essential to foundation technology, road construction and earthwork application in cold region. This research aims to present the results of experimental investigation relative to the unconsolidated-undrained triaxial compression behavior of fine-grained soil as a function of freeze-thaw cycles and fiber volume fractions. All measurements were carried out for 3 selected glass and basalt fiber fractions (0%, 0.5%, and 1%) and 5 selected freeze-thaw cycles (0, 2, 5, 10, and 15). It has been observed that for the studied soil, strength of unreinforced soil reduced with increasing number of the freeze-thaw cycles while fiber-reinforced soil shows greater effect and the strength reduction amount reduces from 40% to 18%. Moreover, the reduction trend for cohesion of the fiber-reinforced soil decreased, this was seen more prevalent on 1% glass fiber-reinforced soil. The resilient modulus of all specimens reduced with increasing number of the freezethaw cycles. The experimental results demonstrated that different fiber fractions and their mixtures could be employed as supplement additive to improve the freeze-thaw performance of cohesive soils for road construction and earthworks.

Effect of Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Triaxial Strength Property Damage to Cement Improved Aeolian Sand (CIAS)

“…Large numbers of experimental results have shown that the shear strength of soils generally decreases after freeze-thaw cycling, the degree of which depends on external factors such as moisture content [9] and dry density values [10]. Thus, the particular character of soil should also be concerned with, e.g., the surcharge loads [11] and fiber volume fractions [12]. To gain a further understanding of the effect of freeze-thaw weathering on the damage to soil or rock, many scholars have analyzed the freeze-thaw induced damage from the perspective of fracture energy [13,14,15,16].…”

Comparison of Nanomaterials with Other Unconventional Materials Used as Additives for Soil Improvement in the Context of Sustainable Development: A Review

“…This could help to reduce the effect of a freeze-thaw cycle on the soil. Relevant tests confirmed that the attenuation of elastic modulus, cohesion and internal friction angle induced by a freeze-thaw cycle can be inhibited by the treatment of short glass fibers [ 86 ]. Moreover, short glass fiber could also increase the shear modulus and damping ratio of the treated soil [ 87 ].…”

Assessment for Sustainable Use of Quarry Fines as Pavement Construction Materials: Part II-Stabilization and Characterization of Quarry Fine Materials

“…The deteriorations caused by freeze-thawing cycles for Ecolan-stabilized quarry fines were more serious, which resulted in a decrease in the UCS by about 20%. Yet, this amount of deterioration in the UCS is normal for stabilized granular materials such as lime-treated kaolinite [41,42] and fiber-reinforced clay [43,44]. However, improvement is still necessary to enhance the freeze-thawing resistance for quarry fines stabilized with fly ash, even though the ratio is right on the limit set by Finnish guidelines of 6.7 [18].…”