A glimpse into rapid freezing processes in clay with x-ray tomography

This short paper proposes time-series x-ray tomography as a valuable tool for quantifying freezing processes in a remoulded clay. As an example, three simple closed system (i.e., no water entry) experiments are performed and analysed, all of which were frozen under relatively high but different thermal gradients. The progressive appearance of a zone of ice-lenses, and the deformation of the sample due to freezing and cryogenic consolidation is quantified with time—with the hope of providing data to THM models, and to this end the data presented are made available online. The rich patterns in the frozen zone are also illustrated and discussed. The measurement technique used has satisfactory performance and further work on open systems, different materials and different thermal gradients is expected to contribute significantly to understanding of the complex phenomena surrounding freezing in soil.