Measurement of tangential frost heaving stress for steel pile in clay silt

Tangential frost heaving stress is the main force causing the frost jacking of pile foundation in frozen ground. It is of great engineering and scientific significance to measure the exact value of tangential frost heaving stress economically and quickly. In this study, a set of test equipment was designed and manufactured to measure the tangential frost heaving stress of steel pile in clay silt during freezing. At the same time, the soil temperature, vertical displacement and moisture content of the soil were measured. The results indicate that the measuring equipment is feasible, and a complete variation process of uplift force during the freezing-thawing cycle was obtained. In addition, some interesting phenomena were found in the tests, such as the slow reduction and rebound of the uplift force. Also, it was found that the water migrated horizontally to the pile during the freezing process, and the vertical ice films were formed in the soil around the pile.