ABSTRACT
Frozen soil exhibits frost heave or frost boiling phenomena owing to the phase change of Unfrozen Water Content ( https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> θ u ). These characteristic changes in pore fluid often create problems in substructures and pavements. Typically, these changes are represented by Soil Freezing Characteristic Curve (SFCC), which relates unfrozen moisture content and temperature. The pulse wave velocity and dielectric constant, the readily measurable physical parameters, significantly vary with the phase change in the frozen soil matrix. In this context, attempts have been made to quantify https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> θ u from Time Domain Reflectometry sensor, and the Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> V p of five coarse-grained soil samples prepared at 30%RD. As expected, there was an increase in the https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> V p value of the soil with freezing, owing to the phase changes of pore fluid, exhibiting a non-linear trend with https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> θ u . Also, hysteresis behavior was observed in freeze-thaw mechanism of all the soils.
