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Experimental and Theoretical Investigation on the Unloading Creep Behaviors of Frozen Soil

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Abstract

The unloading creep deformation and failure of the frozen surrounding rock and soil stratum are common problems in artificial freezing construction. This research aims to experimentally and theoretically study the unloading creep behaviors of frozen soil. A wide range of test conditions, including different pressure history, shear stress paths, and creep stress levels, were employed to examine the sensitivity of triaxial shear and creep behaviors to the selected experimental variables. The testing results manifest that both the axial deformation and the volumetric deformation behaviors are dependent on the pressure history and shear stress path at the shear stage and creep stage. The three-stage damage evolution feature during the entire creep process was experimentally observed, and the damage evolution model based on the disturbance state concept was presented to characterize this damage accumulation process. A new fractal creep model, considering the effect of pressure history and shear stress path on the rheologic behaviors, was proposed. The capability of the fractal creep model was examined by predicting the triaxial creep responses of frozen soil under different stress paths. The comparison results exhibit very good agreement between the experimental curves and the simulation responses determined from the proposed creep model.

Highlights

  • A series of triaxial unloading creep tests were conducted on frozen soil, and the effects of stress path on creep properties were investigated. The unloading creep behaviors of frozen soil are dependent on the stress history and stress path. The dilatancy characteristics in the volumetric creep process were found, and the dilatancy characteristics are sensitive to the unloading path.

  • The damage development of frozen soil in the creep process was evaluated by using typical damage evolution equations of other geomaterials. A new damage-evolution equation was presented for frozen soil. The simulation ability of this model was examined by the testing results.

  • A new fractal creep model was proposed to characterize the unloading creep behaviors of frozen soil, and the predictive ability of this model was verified by the testing results under different stress paths.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42271153). Western Young Scholars project of Chinese Academy of Sciences of China (Zhiwei Zhou), Natural Science Foundation of Gansu province of China (21JR7RA037, 22JR5RA055).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Mingde Shen, Zhiwei Zhou & Wei Ma

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Mingde Shen, Zhiwei Zhou & Wei Ma

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  1. Mingde Shen
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Correspondence to Zhiwei Zhou.

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Shen, M., Zhou, Z. & Ma, W. Experimental and Theoretical Investigation on the Unloading Creep Behaviors of Frozen Soil. Rock Mech Rock Eng 56, 5833–5859 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03369-1

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