The Small-Strain Stiffness Properties of Clay-Gravel Mixture Subjected to Freeze-Thaw Cycles

ABSTRACT In this paper, the resonant column tests were utilized to examine the small-strain stiffness and attenuation of clay-gravel mixture (CGM) under various effective consolidation pressures and freeze-thaw cycles, on the basis of investigating the electrical resistivity variation trend of CGM samples undergoing various freeze-thaw cycles. It is shown that the resistivity of CGM tends to stabilize when the freeze-thaw cycles (N) reach 9, and, thus, the samples after 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 cycles were selected for resonance column testing. The results show that, once N > 9, the decay in dynamic shear modulus demonstrates a weakened association with N and the stiffness degradation effect of freezing-thawing would be weakened and inhibited by high effective consolidation stress. Additionally, a mathematical model was constructed to predict the maximum dynamic shear modulus (Gmax) in the basis of freeze-thaw cycles and effective consolidation stress. Microscopic analysis results suggest that the freeze-thaw effect on CGM lies in the development of soil aggregates and porosity variation within the fine-grained soil. Compared to gravel soils and frozen soil, the cementation of matrix soil and the effect of blocky structure are considered as fundamental reasons for the improved small-strain stiffness and reduced vulnerability to freeze-thaw cycles of CGM.