CALCULATION OF TANGENTIAL FROST HEAVE STRESSES BASED ON PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL AND STRESS-STRAIN BEHAVIOR OF FROZEN SOIL

Abstract

Development of northern territories opens up new opportunities for social and economic development of the society. However, designing construction facilities in such areas is complicated by special features of the severe climate; frost heave of soils is one of its manifestations. Normal frost heave forces under the foundation base can be neutralized by foundation embedment below the seasonal frost line. In these conditions, tangential heave stresses will act on the lateral surfaces of foundations, causing uneven lifting of structures, which will lead to the violation of the structure integrity. Regulatory and technical literature recommends determination of tangential frost heave stresses on the basis of generalized tabular data or experimentally, which is not always possible. A relevant technique for calculating tangential stresses is required, which takes into account climatic and hydrogeological conditions of the construction site. In this article, an attempt is made to reveal those aspects of originating and development of tangential frost heave stresses, which would allow carrying out their calculation. To solve this problem, the existing research experience, features of the cryogenic structure, mechanical and stress-strain behavior of frozen soils were analyzed. A relationship of tangential frost heave stresses with specific cohesion and moisture of frozen soil was revealed on the basis of the analysis. A point of view, according to which tangential frost heave stresses are a result of maximum compressive heave stresses, directed along the normal to the lateral surface of the foundation, was emphasized too; this allowed relating tangential heave stresses with the frozen soil deformation modulus. Based on the above statements, formulas for calculating tangential frost heave stresses were obtained. The calculation method for determining these stresses would provide the possibility of designing cost-effective and safe structures in areas with the severe climate.

Keywords

• Wetness
• boundary layer
• tangential stresses
• deformation modulus
• frost heave
• specific soil cohesion