Investigation of the Physical and Mechanical Behaviors of Fine-Grained soils in Cold Regions

Abstract

Investigation and revealing the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the physical and mechanical properties of various soils is important in terms of foundation systems, road construction and earthwork applications in cold regions. In this study, the changes in height and water content of high plasticity fine-grained soil were investigated after different number of freeze-thaw cycles (0, 2, 5, and 11) and experimental results on their behavior under unconsolidated-undrained (UU) triaxial compression tests are presented. After the maximum freeze-thaw cycle, while the heights of the soil samples increased by 2.44%, their water content decreased by 4.36%. Moreover, after the maximum freeze-thaw cycle, the triaxial UU compressive strength of the soils decreased by 19%-40%, the elasticity modules decreased by 30%-40%, the cohesion decreased by 50.28%, while the internal friction angle increased by 4.85%. The findings of the study confirm the weakening and deteriorating effects of freeze-thaw cycles in fine-grained soils, and may provide a scientific basis for the design evaluation of infrastructures to be built on soils belonging to the cold regions in this study and to prevent against freeze-thaw problems.

Keywords

• High plasticity soil
• Freeze-thaw cycles
• Triaxial compression test

Soğuk İklim Bölgelerinde İnce Taneli Zeminlerin Fiziksel ve Mekanik Davranışının İncelenmesi

Abstract

Donma-çözülme döngülerinin çeşitli zeminlerin fiziksel ve mekanik özellikleri üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesi ve ortaya konulması, soğuk iklim bölgelerindeki temel sistemleri, yol yapımı ve toprak işleri uygulamaları bakımından önem arz etmektedir. Bu araştırmada, yüksek plastisiteli ince taneli zeminin yükseklik ve su içeriklerindeki değişimleri farklı sayıda donma-çözülme döngülerinden (0, 2, 5 ve 11) sonra incelenmiş ve konsolidasyonsuz-drenajsız (UU) üç eksenli basınç testleri altındaki davranışlarına ilişkin deneysel sonuçlar sunulmuştur. Zemin numunelerinin yükseklikleri maksimum donma-çözülme döngüsünden sonra %2,44 oranında artarken, su içerikleri %4,36 oranında azalmıştır. Maksimum donma-çözülme döngüsünden sonra, zeminlerin üç eksenli UU basınç dayanımlarında %19-%40 arası, elastisite modüllerinde %30-%40 arası ve kohezyonunda %50,28 oranında azalma görülürken, içsel sürtünme açısında %4,85 oranında artış görülmüştür. Çalışmanın bulguları ince daneli zeminlerde donma-çözülmenin zayıflatıcı ve yapısında bozucu etkilerini doğrular nitelikte olup, özellikle incelenen soğuk iklim bölgesine ait zeminlerin üzerinde yapılacak altyapıların tasarım değerlendirmesi ve donma-çözülme kaynaklı problemlere karşı önlemler için bilimsel bir temel sağlayabilecektir.

Keywords

• Yüksek plastisiteli zemin
• Donma-çözülme döngüleri
• Üç eksenli basınç test
• High plasticity soil
• Freeze-thaw cycles
• Triaxial compression test

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