Experimental study on the unconfined compression of a thawing soil

Unconfined compression tests of a thawing soil were conducted using an SLB-1 triaxial apparatus with a special temperature controlled system. Analysis of the effects in moisture content before freezing, cooling temperature, and thawing temperature at the top of the sample yielded the following results: (1) at a given cooling and thawing temperature, thawing soil with the optimum water content has the highest strength and the relation between strength and water content could be described by a polynomial expression; (2) at a given water content and thawing temperature, the strength and strain at failure increase with decreasing cooling temperature; (3) at a given cooling temperature, the higher the initial water content of the sample, the larger the strain at failure; and (4) an empirical model is proposed for expressing the stress–strain relation with potential for applicability in engineering design.