Experimental and Theoretical Studies of the Mechanism of Frost Heaving

Abstract

The paper discusses the Jackson and Chalmers theory of frost heave and describes attempts to verify it experimentally. The theory takes into account the local thermal conditions in the soil and the permeability of the soil. The theory predicts (or explains) stationary ice lens formation, where there is no advance of the frost line, and also predicts a rate of heave that is independent of the rate of advance of the freezing front. The theory assumes that a soil can be represented by a single characteristic void size although in real cases soils are not as uniform and homogeneous as assumed. Several experiments to verify the theory are described. They were generally unsuccessful, neither disproving nor substantiating the theory.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1970
Accession Number
AD0714641

Entities

People

  • Bruce Chalmers
  • Kenneth A. Jackson

Organizations

  • Harvard University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cold Regions
  • Energy
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Filter Paper
  • Free Energy
  • Geometry
  • Groundwater
  • Heat Balance
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Of Fusion
  • Heat Transmission
  • Latent Heat
  • Melting Point
  • Particles
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Pressure Gradients

Readers

  • Geotechnical Engineering.
  • Theoretical Analysis.