Experiment research on unfrozen water content and pore characteristic of cement improved soil under freeze-thaw cycle

Abstract

Grouting with cementitious materials is a commonly-recognized measure to control the freezing and thawing deformation of artificial freezing strata. This study investigated the unfrozen water content of silty clay with different cement content under freeze-thaw condition, as well as the pore characteristics of the silty clay before and after freeze-thaw cycle based on nuclear magnetic resonance. It analyzed pore characteristics variation patterns of cement improved soil before and after freeze-thaw cycle and the micro-mechanism of freeze-thaw damage through scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Results showed that: ①With the same water content, the increase of cement content would lead to the initial increase and subsequent decrease in the sensitivity to temperature of water molecule magnetization in the pores. ②When the cement content is between 0%~10% and at the same temperature during thawing process, the increase of cement content would lead to the initial decrease and subsequent increase of the unfrozen water content in the frozen soil. ③Compared with the silty clay without cement, cement improved silty clay shows little changes in its pores before and after the freeze-thaw cycle. The pore characteristics and microstructure of improved silty clay with cement content of 5% are less affected by freeze-thaw cycle. This research can provide references for the study of freeze-thaw resistance of improved soil and the stability control of strata frost heave and thaw settlement in artificial frozen engineering.

Keywords

• cement improvement
• silty clay
• unfrozen water content
• pore characteristic
• nuclear magnetic resonance