FROST HEAVE AND WATER UPTAKE RELATIONS IN VARIABLY SATURATED AGGREGATE BASE MATERIALS

The occurrence of frost heave in soils and aggregates can be attributed to the redistribution of water in the soil profile. Frost heave testing performed in this study on 71 variably saturated specimens of aggregate base material indicates that although the uptake of new water from outside the soil body is a primary source of moisture in the formation of segregation ice, internal water residing within the soil or aggregate structure can serve as an important supply of water to the freezing front. Frost heave concepts relating to unsaturated soil conditions were reviewed, and a laboratory methodology was employed to study the relationships between the physical properties of the specimens and their frost heave behavior. Degrees of saturation ranging from 45% to 84% were evaluated, and heave-uptake ratios as high as 2.24 were calculated. Ratios less than 1.09 suggest that sufficient porosity exists in the sample matrix to allow the formation of ice without causing frost heave; higher ratios designate samples that are nearly saturated and that undergo substantial upward redistributions of existing water during the initial freezing process, which gives rise to measurable heave even before additional water is imbibed by the sample. The entry of air into freezing soils and aggregates can play an important role in their frost heave behavior.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/1821-02
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=FROST+HEAVE+AND+WATER+UPTAKE+RELATIONS+IN+VARIABLY+SATURATED+AGGREGATE+BASE+MATERIALS&author=W.+Guthrie&author=A.+Hermansson&publication_year=2003
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/152358.aspx
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1821, Geology and Properties of Earth Materials 2003.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Guthrie, W S
  • Hermansson, A
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: p. 13-19
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1821
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Base course (Pavements); Frost heaving; Laboratory tests; Percent saturation
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00960130
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309085535
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 21 2003 12:00AM