Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions ›› 2015, Vol. 7 ›› Issue (3): 199–205.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2015.00199

• ARTICLES •    

The influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the granulometric composition of Moscow morainic clay

Ze Zhang1,2, Vadim V. Pendin2, WenJie Feng1, ZhongQiong Zhang1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China;
    2. Department of Engineering Geology, Russian State Geological Prospecting University, Moscow, Russian Federation
  • 收稿日期:2014-04-15 修回日期:2014-09-20 发布日期:2018-11-23
  • 通讯作者: Ze Zhang, zhangze@lzb.ac.cn E-mail:zhangze@lzb.ac.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41301070), the West Light Program for Talent Cultivation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the project sponsored by the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry, which granted to Dr. Ze Zhang.

The influence of freeze-thaw cycles on the granulometric composition of Moscow morainic clay

Ze Zhang1,2, Vadim V. Pendin2, WenJie Feng1, ZhongQiong Zhang1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China;
    2. Department of Engineering Geology, Russian State Geological Prospecting University, Moscow, Russian Federation
  • Received:2014-04-15 Revised:2014-09-20 Published:2018-11-23
  • Contact: Ze Zhang, zhangze@lzb.ac.cn E-mail:zhangze@lzb.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41301070), the West Light Program for Talent Cultivation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the project sponsored by the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry, which granted to Dr. Ze Zhang.

摘要: The freeze-thaw cycling process considerably changes the composition, structure, and properties of soils. Since the grain size is the most important factor in determining soil characteristics, our current research primarily aims to investigate dynamic changes of the soil fraction when exposed to freeze-thaw conditions. We observed two series of Moscow morainic clayey specimens (gQIIm): (I) the original series, and (II) the remolded series. We subjected each series of soil specimens to different frequencies of freeze-thaw cycles (3, 6, 20, and 40 cycles), and we used granulometric tests to analyze both series before and after exposure to freeze-thaw conditions. As a result of our experiments, the granulometric compositions tended to be distributed evenly after 40 freeze-thaw processes (i.e., content of fraction for 0.1-0.05 mm was increased after 40 freeze-thaw cycles) because the division of coarse grains and the aggregation of fine grains were synchronized during the freeze-thaw process. The soil grains in both series changed bi-directionally. In the original series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the clay grains, and in the remolded series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the silt grains, because potential energy difference caused the division and aggregation processes to relate to the counteraction process. The even distribution of soil grain size indicated the state of equilibrium or balance. The granulometric compositions were altered the most during the sixth freeze-thaw cycle, because the coefficient of the intensity variation of the grain fineness (Kvar) had its maximum value at that time.

关键词: Moscow morainic clay, freeze-thaw cycles, granulometric composition, variability

Abstract: The freeze-thaw cycling process considerably changes the composition, structure, and properties of soils. Since the grain size is the most important factor in determining soil characteristics, our current research primarily aims to investigate dynamic changes of the soil fraction when exposed to freeze-thaw conditions. We observed two series of Moscow morainic clayey specimens (gQIIm): (I) the original series, and (II) the remolded series. We subjected each series of soil specimens to different frequencies of freeze-thaw cycles (3, 6, 20, and 40 cycles), and we used granulometric tests to analyze both series before and after exposure to freeze-thaw conditions. As a result of our experiments, the granulometric compositions tended to be distributed evenly after 40 freeze-thaw processes (i.e., content of fraction for 0.1-0.05 mm was increased after 40 freeze-thaw cycles) because the division of coarse grains and the aggregation of fine grains were synchronized during the freeze-thaw process. The soil grains in both series changed bi-directionally. In the original series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the clay grains, and in the remolded series, changes of the sand grains were conjugated with the silt grains, because potential energy difference caused the division and aggregation processes to relate to the counteraction process. The even distribution of soil grain size indicated the state of equilibrium or balance. The granulometric compositions were altered the most during the sixth freeze-thaw cycle, because the coefficient of the intensity variation of the grain fineness (Kvar) had its maximum value at that time.

Key words: Moscow morainic clay, freeze-thaw cycles, granulometric composition, variability

Bondarenko GI, Sadovsky AV, 1991. Water content effect of the thawing clay soils on shear strength. Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Ground Freezing, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 123-127.
Broms BB, Yao LYC, 1964. Shear strength of a soil after freezing and thawing. Journal of the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division, ASCE, 90(4): 1-25.
Chamberlain EJ, Gow AJ, 1979. Effect of freezing and thawing on the permeability and structure of soils. Engineering Geology, 13(1-4): 73-92. DOI: 10.1016/0013-7952(79)90022-X.
Chamberlain EJ, Iskander I, Hunsiker SE, 1990. Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the permeability and macrostructure of soils. Proceedings of International Symposium on Frozen Soil Impacts on Agricultural, Range and Forest Lands. Spokane, Washington. U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Special Report 9021, pp. 145-155.
Christopher S, Christopher G, 1998. Freeze-thaw effects on Boston Blue clay. Journal of Engineering and Applied Science, Soil Improvement for Big Digs, 81: 161-176.
Chuvilin EM, Yazynin OM, 1988. Frozen soil macro- and microstructure formation. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Permafrost, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 320-323.
Konischev VN, 1977. Some general regularities of the transformation of dispersed rock composition by cryogenic processes. Problems of Cryolithology (Moscow), 6: 114-129. (in Russian)
Konischev VN, Rogov VV, Shurina GN, 1974. The influence of cryogenic processes on clay minerals. Bulletin of Moscow State University (Series Geography), 1: 1-8. (in Russian)
Mazurov GP, 1970. The formation of the composition and properties of soils in the subarctic zone under the influence of cryogenic processes. Problems of Engineering Geology. Reports of Soviet Scientists to the International Congress of the International Association of Engineering Geologists, Moscow, pp. 118-125.
Minervin AV, Sergeev EM, 1964. New data on the problem of loess. Publishing Academy of Sciences USSR (Geology Series), 9: 53-64. (in Russian)
Morozov S, Vassiliev V, Datsko Y, 1973. Changes in the composition and properties of loose rocks under the influence of long-term cross freezing and thawing. In: Problems of Engineering Geology and Soil Science. Moscow State University, Russia.
Rehbinder P, 1966. Physical-chemical mechanics of disperse structures. Moscow, Russia: Publishing House of Science, pp. 400.
Roman LT, Zhang Z, 2010. Effect of freezing-thawing on the physico-mechanical properties of a morianic clayey loam. Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 47(3): 96-101. DOI: 10.1007/s11204-010-9095-3.
Sergeev EM, 1990. Soil Science (Translation from Russian to Chinese). Beijing, China: Geological Publishing House.
Wang JC, Xu XZ, Wang YJ, 1996. Thermal sieve effect and convectional migration of soil particles during unidirectional freezing. Journal of Glaciolgy and Geocryology, 18(3): 252-255.
Yang CS, He P, Cheng GD, et al., 2003. Testing study on influence of freezing and thawing on dry density and water content of soil. Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering, 22(S2): 2695-2699.
Yershov ED, 1982. Cryolithogenesis. Nedra, Moscow, Russia, pp. 211. (in Russian)
Yershov ED, 1995. Fundamentals of Geocryology, Part 1: Physical-Chemical Basis of Geocryology. Moscow State University, Russia, pp. 368. (in Russian)
Zhang Z, Pendin VV, 2010. Conversion of moraine loam with repeated freezing and thawing. Geology and Exploration, 2: 58-63. (in Russian)
Zimmie TF, Laplante C, 1990. The effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the permeability of a fine grained soil. Proceedings of 22nd Mid-Atlantic Industrial Waste Conference. Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, pp. 580-593.
[1] ShengYun Chen, Qian Zhao, WenJie Liu, Zhao Zhang, Shuo Li, HongLin Li, ZhongNan Nie, LingXi Zhou, ShiChang Kang. Effects of freeze-thaw cycles on soil N2O concentration and flux in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2018, 10(1): 69-79.
[2] YaFeng Zhang, XinPing Wang, YanXia Pan, Rui Hu. Intrastorm stemflow variability of a xerophytic shrub within a water-limited arid desert ecosystem of northern China[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2017, 9(5): 495-502.
[3] Tuncer B. Edil, Bora Cetin, Ali Soleimanbeigi. Laboratory and field performance of recycled aggregate base in a seasonally cold region[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2017, 9(3): 183-191.
[4] ShengBo Xie, JianJun Qu, Tao Wang. Wind tunnel simulation of the effects of freeze-thaw cycles on soil erosion in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2016, 8(3): 187-195.
[5] QianMi Yu, JianKun Liu, JingYu Liu, DingJun Lv, TengFei Wang. Experimental study of the effects of non-uniformly distributed fine soil on mechanical properties of Shenyang-Dandong Railway coarse-grained soil[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2015, 7(5): 503-512.
[6] ZhenYa Liu, JingYu Liu, QingZhi Wang, JianKun Liu. Compressive strength and frost heave resistance of different types of semi-rigid base materials after freeze-thaw cycles[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2015, 7(4): 365-369.
[7] ChengYi Yu, Shuang Tian, Liang Tang, XianZhang Ling, GuoQing Zhou. Finite element analysis on deformation of highembankment in heavy-haul railway subjected to freeze-thaw cycles[J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2015, 7(4): 421-429.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed   
No Suggested Reading articles found!