Influence of freeze-thaw action on hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated crushable volcanic soils

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of freeze-thaw action on the strength and water retention-permeability characteristics of crushable volcanic coarse-grained soils in unsaturated conditions. A series of triaxial compression tests, water retention tests and permeability tests were performed for volcanic coarse-grained soils under different freeze-thaw histories. Test results showed that the particle breakage caused by the freeze-thaw action made the shear strength in unsaturated conditions decrease and the water retentivity increase, while not affecting the permeability. These indicate that the freeze-thaw action has strong influences on the hydro-mechanical characteristics of a crushable volcanic coarse-grained soil in unsaturated conditions even if the soil lacks in frostsusceptibility. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.