Strength characteristics of sand–silt mixtures subjected to cyclic freezing-thawing-repetitive loading

Daily freezing-thawing-repetitive loading is a critical factor affecting soil stability. This study assesses the strength of sand–silt mixtures with various silt fractions (SFs) subjected to cyclic freezing-thawing-repetitive loading. Specimens with SF of 0–100% were prepared with a fixed relative density of 60%. The number of repetitive loadings (N) was 1, 100, and 1000 for each specimen with different SFs. After three cycles of freezing-thawing-repetitive loading, the specimens were frozen at −5^◦C for the uniaxial compression test. Test results show that the change in relative density (∆D_r) increases with the increase in SF up to 30% and decreases as SF increases beyond 30% owing to the change in the void ratio. The volumetric unfrozen water content (θ_u) increases with the increase in both SF and N owing to the effect of the physicochemical characteristics of soils on small voids. Unconfined compressive strength of sand-dominant mixtures (SF ≤ 30%) is reinforced by ∆D_r. By contrast, for silt-dominant mixtures (SF > 30%), the unconfined compressive strength decreases with the increase in θ_u and N due to lubricant role and sands dispersion. Thus, the effects of SF and N should be considered for sand–silt mixtures that have a probability to undergo cyclic freezing-thawing-repetitive loading.