The behavior of moisture in high-water-content soil during the freeze-thaw process under natural cold conditions

摘要

Ground freezes from the surface downward, and during this process soil moisture is drawn upward. The moisture content of soil lhat has frozen is high, whereas (he moisture content of non-frozen soil below that is low, because water is drawn upward toward the soil that has frozen. If high-moisture soil can be unproved to yield low-moisture soil using this phenomenon, low-cost improvement will be possible. Soil moisture change through winter were monitored in outdoor experiments. The results confirmed the feasibility of improving unsuitable soil with high water content through freezing. It was also found lhat improvement at 15 to 20 cm below the frozen surface was effective, and that the water content of soil poured into an outdoor earth tank decreased from 300 to 150% over a period of two years involving two freezing periods.