2019 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 576-581
Resilient modulus (Mr), the ratio of the amplitude of cyclic axial stress to the amplitude of the resultant recoverable axial strain, is especially important in mechanistic pavement design procedure and it usually decreases in thaw season. This loss of stiffness was attributed to the change of moisture and the effect of freeze-thaw has not been considered completely. This paper proposed a new test method for resilient modulus of unsaturated unbound granular materials subjected to freeze-thaw action. By controlling the matric suction stable during freeze-thaw process, the water content before and after freeze-thaw is constant. As a result, the effect of freeze-thaw on resilient modulus could be studied. Test results illustrate that freeze-thaw process not only reduces resilient modulus greatly, but also weakens the influence of bulk stress, deviator stress, and matric suction on resilient modulus, even with same water content before and after freeze-thaw. Besides, a freeze-thaw process also leads to a smaller Secant Young's modulus and a larger permanent axial strain under repeated axial loads.