Strength of frozen silt as a function of ice content and dry unit weight

A total of 45 unconfined compression tests were conducted on frozen specimens of remolded, saturated Fairbanks silt at dry unit weights ranging from 993 to 1490 kg/m³ with total water contents ranging from 0.28 to 0.58. The rate of strain was 0.005 s^?1 . Using the criterion that the ice matrix in the soil fractures at the first point of significant yield shown in the stress-strain curve, which occurs at less than 0.01 strain in this study, the “ice matrix strength” is shown to be nearly proportional to the volumetric ice content of the soil for these tests. The strength at 0.2 strain appears to be nearly independent of the dry unit weight and water content of the soil.