Resilient Modulus of Freeze-Thaw Affected Granular Soils for Pavement Design and Evaluation. Part 2. Field Validation Tests at Winchendon, Massachusetts, Test Sections

Stress-deformation data for six granular soils ranging from sandy silt to dense-graded crushed stone were obtained from in-situ tests and laboratory test. Surface deflections were measured in the in-situ tests, with repeated-load plate-bearing and falling-weight deflectometer equipment, when the six granular soils were frozen, thawed, and at various stages of recovery from thaw weakening. The measured deflections were used to judge the validity of procedures developed for laboratory triaxial tests to determine nonlinear resilient moduli of specimens in the frozen, thawed, and recovering states. The validity of the nonlinear resilient moduli, expressed as functions of externally applied stress and moisture tension, was confirmed by using the expressions to calculate surface deflections that were found to compare well with deflections measured in the in-situ tests. The tests on specimens at various stages of recovery are especially significant because they show a strong dependence of the resilient modulus on moisture tension, leading to the conclusion that predictions or in-situ measurements of moisture tension can be used to evaluate expected seasonal variation in the resilient modulus of granular soils. See also Part 1, AD-A171 541.