Abstract:

To better understand the in-situ engineering conditions of frozen ground where the piers of Qinghai-Tibetan ±500kV Direct Current Transmission Line Project will be constructed; the direct shearing creep experiment for frozen silty clay, a kind of soil taken from Wudaoliang on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and remodeled in different moisture contents and densities in laboratory at -2℃, was carried out. The study results show that most creep of the frozen silty clay appears as attenuation creep which has two phases: unsteady creep phase and steady creep phase; only several creeps of frozen silty clay takes on the third phases: accelerated creep phase. The long-term strength of frozen soil could be calculated by the long-term strength equation. The long-term strength of the frozen silty clay closely affected by the moisture content and density of the soil; the frozen soil with higher moisture content has higher long-term strength at low moisture circumstance; but it shows opposite trend at high moisture circumstance; the frozen soil with higher density has higher long-term strength with the same moisture content.

Key words: Qinghai-Tibet transmission line, direct shear creep, moisture content, density, long-term strength, frozen silty clay