Engineering Geology, 13 (1979) 185--195 185

© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam --Printed in The Netherlands

C REEP B E H A V I O U R OF F R O Z E N SOILS IN U N IA X IA L
COMPRESSION T E S T S

H. ECKARDT
Institute of Soil Mechanics and Rock Mechanics, University o f Karlsruhe (German
Federal Republic)
(Received June 15, 1978)

ABSTRACT

Eckardt, H., 1979. Creep behaviour of frozen soils in uniaxial compression tests. Eng.
Geol., 13: 185--195.

The stress---strain behaviour of frozen soils is often described by means of creep

curves f r o m uniaxiai or triaxiai creep tests. T e n or t w e l v e tests o f similar samples are
required t o o b t a i n a g o o d relationship b e t w e e n stress o, strain e, t e m p e r a t u r e T and t i m e
t or strain rate ~. To reduce the required number of samples it is possible to apply the
compression load in creep tests stepwise. Therefore creep curves for different stress
levels can be obtained from one sample.
In this paper the bearing capacity of cylindrical samples of frozen medium sand under
c o n s t a n t uniaxial compression stress and under stepwise increased stresses is compared.
It is shown how to use these different creep curves to describe the stress--strain behaviour
o f frozen soils.

INTRODUCTION

Artificially f r ozen soils are used in constructions for its water-protecting

e ff ect as well as f o r its bearing capacity. If y o u apply frozen soil bodies as a
static effective element, knowledge o f its bearing capacity is necessary. As
this material has a distinct t i m e ~ l e p e n d e n t strength the temporal develop-
m e n t o f stresses and strains is very i m p o r t a n t for the dimensioning o f frozen
soil bodies. Moreover, the m os t l y i n h o m o g e n e o u s distribution o f tempera-
ture and stresses within a f r oz e n soil b o d y requires knowledge o f these
functions over a wide field o f stress and t e m p e r a t u r e . The usual m e t h o d o f
describing th e c o m p l e x c onne c t i ons b e t w e e n stress, strain, t e m p e r a t u r e and
time, is by uniaxial or triaxial creep tests with constant load. Because o f the
large n u m b e r o f parameters, the n u m b e r o f tests required is considerable.
However, with the help o f a special t e c h n i q u e this n u m b e r can be reduced.
By using stepwise increase o f load at a single sample the influence o f stress
on creep behaviour o f the material can be described, although testing results
with this m e t h o d o f load application are di fferent f r o m those t aken from
tests with c o n s t a n t stress. This paper deals with the evaluation o f uniaxial
creep tests and th e p e r f o r m a n c e o f frozen m e d i u m sand samples with
d i f f er en t load applications.
186

CREEP TESTS

In the Institute of Soil Mechanics and R o c k Mechanics at the University

of Karlsruhe the creep behaviour for different frozen soils has been exam-
ined. Medium sand was always laid densely and water saturated in the
mould. The dry material had a void ratio of e ~ 0.5, a b o u t 7d = 17.5 kN/m 3.
A sandy silt with a water content wn of a b o u t 12% was used as a cohesive
soft. The freezing process was equal for all samples and was program controlled.
The testing machines are placed in walk-in freezing rooms whose tem-
peratures correspond to the required test temperatures. The ratio of sample
height to diameter is h / d = 20/10 cm and h / d = 32/16 cm respectively, for
undisturbed samples of cohesive soils. The sample end plates are lubricated
to overcome the friction between sample and loading plate and so permit
h o m o g e n e o u s deformation.
For investigation o f the stress-strain behaviour the applied stresses and
temperatures should take at least three clearly separated values, including
fields of temperatures and stresses applied in practice. This requirement
usually demands 10--12 tests for each soil on similar samples.
In creep tests with compression load an enlargement of the cross-section
F to F + A F occurs gradually because of sample deformation. In order to
maintain stress o constant a load increase depending on A F is made. In our

h
STRAIN e = - In h ~
0.12

I
I 0"= 0.4 k N / c m 2 / Z 18
0"=0.3 k N / c m 2 / Z 59
0.10

/
/
X

/ [J l cool
"=_ 5oC
0.08
X
X
o/
0.o
/
/ /'°
/" ,,

,,,
002 .~//' - - I ~ z 18. . . . . . . 7"~__ " = 0 11 ~ N / c m 2 1 / Z 8 1 _ _ ÷ _ _

0 '~ 20/ 40 / 80 100 120 140 TIME t [ hoursI

oo
-002
VOLUME STRAIN
V
e v = - In Vo

Fig.1. Creep curves for frozen medium sand (T = --5°C).

 187

STRAIN e:-In--~-h ho
0.12 io' [ I t
=O,SkNIcm21 Z 72o

o'=0.TkN/crn / Z 71
0.10 / [

./I
0.08 /
0.06
,/++/÷

/~ (/ Z 68

I o'= 0.5 / Z 65a

,,<~ x " "

0.02 ,x"
x Z 71
¢ O'=0.3/ Z86 __
--A-., - f~
'A"A" g0 180 300 TIME t [ h o u r s ]
° "~AJ---A--.A
[ l~- l z 72a Z86 < f +~, ~' + ]
-0.01 ~, +'%'~;*-.-~÷+ ¢" ~ " * * * *-*

-002 I [
VOLUME STRAIN
- V
e v = In V-'~
Fig.2. Creep curves for frozen m e d i u m sand (T = --15°C).

tests this is done if the increment A F = 1.3% is e x c e e d e d . V y a l o v [ 1 ] con-

siders A F = 5% satisfactory.

Creep tests with constant stresses

At different temperatures creep stress on samples from frozen, water-

saturated medium sand was kept constant throughout testing. Figs.1 and 2
show the creep behaviour observed in our tests in dependence o f stress and
temperature T.
In Fig.1 the increase o f deformation e with increasing time t is given for
constant stress a at temperature T = --5°C. The rate of deformation
188

decreases with time, and at low stresses reaches a nearly constant value. At
higher stresses ~ increases again after a certain time t. The strain e at which
the increase of ~ starts m a y be i n d e p e n d e n t from time and temperature
within the accuracy o f test results. For this examined soil the associated
point o f deformation o f rate increase ewp ~ 6% can be taken. Fig.2 shows
the creep behaviour depending on stress G at temperature T = --15°C. Besides
the curves for the axial strain e the volume strain ev is given in the lower part
o f Figs.1 and 2. Independent o f stress and temperature, each sample has
more or less volume contraction at test beginning. This is followed by a con-
stant volume deformation behaviour in all tests. Volume dilatancy occurs
only if under sufficiently high stresses the strain ewp is reached at which
accelerated creep occurs. Independent o f temperature all tests, even with
very small stresses, show a time-independent strain e~ For all compression
tests e0 ~ 0.25%. This can be explained by compression of the rubber
membrane in the lubricated end plates and by the rough sample surface on
the top and b o t t o m .

Creep tests with stepwise increase o f load

To reduce the required n u m b e r o f samples for each soil to be tested, on

one sample different stress levels are applied successively. In this study the
samples were also made from frozen, water-saturated medium sand. After
a time the load was increased rapidly by a constant value/x o = 0.1 kN/cm 2.
This period was long enough so t h a t secondary creep with constant strain-
rate ~ on each creep curve could occur. In Fig.3 the time<iependent develop-
m e n t of the observed deformation e is shown, with constant temperature
T = --15°C. The tests differ initially in applied stress from each other. Also
in Fig.3, three other tests with constant stresses during the whole test
period are shown for comparison.
In the primary creep stage those curves with constant stresses from
the beginning o f load application show a greater increase of strain with time
t than those at which a comparable stress was applied stepwise. With nota-
tions given in Fig.4, where T = --15°C and o = const.:
1l

ep~oj < ep~o (1)

j=l

where n is the n u m b e r o f load steps.

In the secondary creep stage nearly equal creep rates ~ are observed for
equal stresses o, independent o f stress history.
For further interpretations we need some notations from Fig.4. The
system o f the original coordinates e and t we call the "basic" system.
For this the following equation is valid:
e -- e0 + ec (2)
Also in this basic system we find the initial strain e i and time ti, which are
the total accumulated strains and time reached at a point o f load increase.
 189

STRAIN E [-]
o.og
• / A/•
0.08

0.07
12~
/ ' // 7, ,/

005
I I /i
0.05 x / ~ x*k.'xo~

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01 ..~÷+..t-*' ' ~ o-=O.L kN/cm2 1Z40

0 I
0 30 60 go 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 350 3go 420
TIME t [ hours ]

Fig.& Creep curves from uniaxial compression tests: stepwise loaded or constant loaded;
T = --15°C; frozen medium sand.

E = E 0 + E-C

~j
'111EcLj.

Ei /

r] I
t

E pr Z~qI
~ I
I
v

ti t
Fig.4. Notations for creep curves of stepwise loaded and constant loaded tests.
190

For the interpretation of stepped creep curves we establish another system

of coordinates with axis ecl and r. It originates at the point of strain ei and
time ti. We call this a "local" system. In both systems the stress o is indicated
with 1, with values from ] 1 t o n. =

INTERPRETATION

If the creep behaviour o f the tested cohesive and granular soils is com-
pared, it can be seen that there is a greater increase of deformation with
time t for silt than for sand under the same conditions of stress and tem-
perature. This nature of silt is characteristic for all cohesive soils and
especially so for clay.
For the analytical description of creep curves in the stage of primary and
secondary creep, among others phenomenological equations are used from
Odquist and Hult [ 2 ] , Vyalov [3] and Ladanyi [4]. Others, e.g. Andersland
and Akili [5] use micro-theological laws based on the rate-process theory.
Here the influence o f temperature on strain rate # is expressed by exp
(--A F/RT), where A F is the activation energy and R the universal gas con-
stant. The interpretation o f all performed creep tests for constant tem-
perature yields qualitatively the strong nonlinear relationship between
stress o, strain e and strain rate ~, shown in Fig.5. Similarly, these functions
are well known for nonfrozen cohesive soils. The mathematical description
is given with different arrangements. Bjerrum [6] developed a relationship
between o and log ~, Andersland and Akili [5] use a connection of the form
~ sinh (Bo), whereas Ladanyi [4] uses a p o w e r law.
The relations shown in Fig.5 have been developed from creep tests with.
constant stresses. They are qualitatively the same for other temperatures.
By means o f the evaluation o f the creep curves from tests with stepwise
increased load we intend to describe the stress--strain behaviour of the

STRESS o" [ k N / c m 2 ]
1.0

/
0.8

0.6
f
0./.,
I T: -15°C [
0.2

0
0
2" 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.0z, 0.05
STRAIN E [-}
Fig. 5. Stress--strain behaviour as a f u n c t i o n o f strain rate ~ (T = --15°C).
 191

investigated soft. For calculation of the required parameters we take the

curves from Fig.3 as transformed curves in a local system with coordinates
ecL and r, and with initial strain ei as parameter. These curves are presented
in Figs.6--8 and a comparison is possible with those of creep tests with
initial constant stress. In this case the parameter is e i = 0 and eel = ec. The
interpretation o f creep tests with stepwise change of load is made in this
paper only for constant temperature T = --15°C.
It can be seen t h a t creep curves with equal stresses reach about the same
strain rate e~L in the secondary stage of creep, independent of their initial
strain ei and their strain rate ~¢L at r = 0. Therefore, in respect of ~ in
secondary creep the starting conditions of creep are w i t h o u t influence. Also,
the different stress histories do not affect the secondary creep strain rate
~L. The deformation ecL taken at the same time r from curves of tests with
stepwise change o f load is much smaller than that of ecL taken from curves
with the same stress but deformation ei = 0. Obviously, under variable loads
hardening of the sample occurs which cannot be neglected when describing
the deformation e as a function of stress o. For equal stresses the secondary
stage of creep with constant strain rate ~¢L is reached earlier in the local
system under variable load than under constant load. It is therefore possible
to shorten the time of load for each stress level. To show the relation between
deformations ec in the basic system and eeL in the local system we use
Figs.6--8. For constant time r and constant stress aj the strain ecL for
different initial strains ei can be taken from these figures. The obtained
values are shown in Fig.9.
The result is t h a t creep strain eel decreases significantly nonlinearly with
increasing initial strain el. To achieve a better fitting of the curves in the

CREEP STRAIN ~'cL[-]

CALCULATED WITH eq.(4)
0.03 I
i
T=- 15°C=const
o'= 05 kN Icm2 =const " ' " "''"
.L..-.-"
002 I- ---''~" + f

001 ~
f ~ ~ 0 0~ 1 ~ E ¢i=0"0131ZB61~'II--

0
0 20 LO 60 80 100 120
TIME 1: [hours]
F i g . 6 . Creep curves from stepwise loaded t e s t s w i t h i n i t i a l s t r a i n el as p a r a m e t e r (e ffi 0 . 5
kN/cm2; T = --15°C).
192

CREEP STRAIN E c L [ - ]
CALCULATED WITH eq. (z,)
0.04

0.03

I T = - 15°C = const

,~/-- c/: 0 6kN/cm 2 =const

/
0.02

0.01

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

TINE ~ [hours ]
F i g . 7 . C r e e p c u r v e s f r o m s t e p w i s e l o a d e d t e s t s w i t h initial s t r a i n e i as p a r a m e t e r (a = 0.6
kN/cm 2; T = --15°C).

field b e t w e e n ei = 0 and ei = 0.01 f u r t h e r tests w i t h stepwise change o f

stresses s h o u l d be m a d e . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , strain ecL is i n f l u e n c e d b y
stress oj and t i m e r. With c o n s t a n t ei and c o n s t a n t T the strain eeL increases
n o n l i n e a r l y w i t h increase o f stress aj. Also, the strain ecL b e c o m e s greater
with increase o f t h e t i m e r f o r c o n s t a n t stress, b u t A e c / A r decreases with
t i m e a n d w i t h e i.
With r e s p e c t t o these results an e q u a t i o n was d e v e l o p e d o f the f o r m :
A , TIIn . o.rn
eeL = + B" eJi ' (3)

where A, B, n and m are material c o n s t a n t s . Eq. 3 is a f u n c t i o n b e t w e e n

c r e e p strain e e l a n d t i m e T in t h e local s y s t e m . F u r t h e r m o r e , ecL d e p e n d s
o n stress oj and o n initial strain el. T h e r e f o r e this e q u a t i o n contains all
p a r a m e t e r s o f stepwise-loaded c r e e p curves. N o w it is possible to calculate
t h e material c o n s t a n t s b y m e a n s o f t h e results o f these tests. F r o m t h e
c o n d u c t e d tests t h e f o l l o w i n g values f o r the p a r a m e t e r s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e
were o b t a i n e d :
A = 0.038 [cm2/kN.h]
S = 150 [--]
m = 2.3 [--]
n = 4 [--]
 193

CREEP STRAIN (:cL[-] /--- CALCULATED WITH e q . ( 4 )

0.05
/

0.04

T =-15° C
,) 0/Z71
O'= 0.7

0.03
Z
;o.o38o,

0.02
Ei =0.041/ Z 65 / I I I / /

0.01

/
of 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T I M E ~: [ hours ]

Fig.8. Creep curves from stepwise loaded tests w i t h initial strain ej as parameter (a = 0.7
kN/cm2; T = --15QC).

It may be that further investigations at smaller strains e i and lower stresses

o lead to s o m e w h a t different values. With the ascertained parameters eq.3
becomes:
0 . 0 3 8 " r '/4" oj2"3
eoL = 1 + 150ei (4)

Eq.4 shows that strain ecL increases with time r if all other parameters are
constant, but the creep rate eel decreases. If stress oj extends to higher
values, strain eeL is greatly increased. The initial strain ei reduces the value of
eeL. With increased ei the d e n o m i n a t o r becomes > 1 and so eq.4 yields a
small strain eeL. For the initial strain ei = 0 the denominator equals 1. This
means a change from the local system to the basic system where eel -- ec.
194

CREEP STRAIN r..cL [ - ]

0.04

- - 0" = 0.5 k N / e r a 2

~\ O" : 0.6 kN/cm 2

..... o" =0.7 kN/cm 2
0.03

!~\\
g ~'.
I
1
[ x "c = 5 hours
-'q. I: =I0 hours
I ~ i ~ ,\\' \ T = - , 515°C=c°nst
° C = c o n s ' ~ J o t - 2- 0 hours
• k --- A 1; =60 hours
0.02 A ~ - - - ~ + 1:=80 hours

"-.q. ~.~-~--.Z.-'~ ~_ ?..,e~ . ~ .._....L-~ ~ '- * * - - • -,-----

x~ ~Z~x.~.~.
~--~...~°_.~..~.
~ ---.~.-. _. _x
o _I x -[---
0 0.01 L02 003 0.04 0.05
INITIAL STRAIN E:i[-]
Fig.9. Creep strain e e l d e p e n d e n t on initial strain e i. T = i - - 1 5 ° 0 ; stress o and t i m e r are
parameters.

It is therefore possible to calculate the creep curves for ei = 0, which are the
curves o f interest, with the same material constants we have obtained from
creep tests with stepwise change o f load.
In Figs.6--8 the main curves calculated with eq.4 for ei = 0 are shown in
dotted lines. For the stress o = 0.5 kN/cm 2 the calculated points lie above
the experimental curve, but within the scatter of test results from creep
tests a satisfactory description o f main creep curves with those from step-
loaded tests is given.
With these calculated main curves the creep behaviour of the investigated
frozen soil can be described as usual.

CONCLUSIONS

Creep tests with stepwise change of load are qualified for describing the
stress--strain behaviour o f frozen soils. The creep rate ~c in the secondary
stage of creep is not influenced by stress and strain history. Therefore the
number o f samples needed for the description o f creep behaviour is reduced
from 10 or 12 to 4 or 5. During the tests change of load should be carried
 195

o u t at small d e f o r m a t i o n s ei, as well as at greater ones. The results o f step-

wise-loaded tests can be c o n v e r t e d with the help o f eq.3 into results o f
tests with c o n s t a n t load. F u r t h e r investigations are necessary to clarify t he
influence o f t e m p e r a t u r e T and o f stress steps 4 o in eq.3.

REFERENCES

1 Vyalov, S.S. et al.,1969. Methods of determining creep, long-term strength and com-
pressibility characteristics of frozen soils.Tech. Transl. 1364, N.R.C. of Canada.
20dquist, F.K.G. and Hult, J., 1962. Kriechfestigkeit metallischer Werkstoffe. Springer
Verlag, Berlin.
3 Vyalov, S.S., 1963. Rheology of frozen soils.Proc. N.A.S.--N.R.C. Int. Permafrost
Conf. Purdue Univ., Lafayette, Ind.
4 Ladanyi, B., 1972. A n engineering theory of creep of frozen soils.Can. Geotech. J.,
9: 63.
5 Andersland, O.B. and Akili, W., 1967. Stress effect on creep rates of a frozen clay
soil. Geotechnique, 17.
6 Bjerrum, N., 1973. Problems of soil mechanics and construction of soft clays and
structurally unstable soils.Proc, Int. Conf. Soil Mech. and Found. Eng., 7th, Moscow.