The Condition of Water in Porous Systems

Frost heaving of piles with an example from Fairbanks, Alaska

“…Much of their work is based on principles of existence, movement, and freezing of soil moisture discussed by Bouyoucos (1913Bouyoucos ( , 1917Bouyoucos ( , 1921Bouyoucos ( , 1923, Bouyoucos and McCool (1928), and others, and on the states of water as determined by Bridgman (1912). Additional basic data have been added by Kersten (19-19, 1952), and freezing of soil moisture has been discussed in more detail by Winterkorn (1943), Grim (1952), Jumikis (1954Jumikis ( , 1955Jumikis ( , 1956), Jackson andChalmers (1956a, b, 1958), Penner (1958), Higashi (1958), and Cass and Miller (1959).…”

“…He showed that liquid water can exist, if pressures are sufficient, as low as -22°C. Winterkorn (1943) takes this information and using the concept that internal pressures may be assumed to produce the same type of results as external pressures, shows that soil water at the pore wall (surface of the mineral particle) is so strongly held by adsorptive pressure that it is a solid as Ice V or VI at room temperature. In some clays the soil moisture is held so tightly that moisture exists as Ice VI, and the ground contracts instead of expanding when subjected to temperatures below 0°C.…”

“…The free energy is the energy available to draw water to the water-ice interface and to cause frost heaving. Lean clay (low plasticity) and silt contain pore sizes that are ideal for the passage of liquid water while they are freezing; fat or heavy clay (high plasticity, especially montmorillonite) may have all or most of the water so tightly-held in the adsorptive layer that no free water can be added (Winterkorn, 1943;Grim, 1952, p. 169).…”

Behavior of cements and related materials under hydrostatic pressures up to 10,000 atmospheres

“…A marked r eduction of this freezing point by some 6,000 atm is no t expected. It has bee n proposed, however , that adsorbed moisture and water presen t in fine capillaries are subj ect t o extrem e surface forces and, therefore, normally exist under hi gh hydrostatic pressure [19] . S uch concep ts h ave frequ entl y been advanced in connection wit,h th eories of bound water which will not be reviewed h er e. A small incr ease in external hydrostatic pref'sure on such tightly bound water migh t exceed the freezing pressure and produce the tra nsition observed h ere.…”