The effect of confining boundary on soil deformation in one dimensional frost heave tests and the theoretical volume correction

Frost heave is one of the major complications in highway construction in cold regions. Laboratory experiments are important in the study frost heave behavior of soils, and one-dimensional frost heave experiments are the easiest way to evaluate the soil frost heave potential. In a one dimensional frost heave test, the deformation in axial direction is non-uniform because of the confining effect of the cutting ring's sidewall. If the effect of confining boundary on soil deformation is ignored, the deformation will be over-estimated. In this paper, the effect of confining boundary on soil deformation is theoretically studied and a volume correction method is developed and applied to the frost heave test of a sulfite saline soil. Test results demonstrate that the sulfite saline soil will expand to a loose, low-density state after several freezing-thawing cycles under the condition of zero axial stress.