Frost heave and thaw settlement of initially saturated-slurried and compacted-saturated materials

Soils and industrial waste in various geotechnical engineering applications are expected to experience freezing and thawing processes in various regions of the world where the winter and summer temperatures fluctuate between sub-zero and positive ambient temperatures. In this study laboratory tests were undertaken on three materials (Speswhite kaolin, Pegwell Bay soil and a cement kiln dust). A custom-made test set up was used to carry out the laboratory tests involving freezing and thawing processes. Initially saturated-slurried and compacted-saturated samples of the selected materials were subjected to one cycle of freezing and thawing to study the influence of material type and initial conditions on the one-dimensional frost heave and thaw settlement. The test results showed that the type of material and the initial conditions of the materials prior to the freezing process influenced the frost heave, frost heave rate, velocity of water flow, segregation potential, and thaw settlement. Compacted-saturated materials showed a tendency to exhibit a greater magnitude of frost heave as compared to their saturated-slurried counterparts.