Question

If the void ratio is 40% in saturated soil, then the expansion of the soil will be __________

(a) 5 %

(b) 2.3 %

(c) 3.6 %

(d) 4 %

The question was asked in an international level competition.

My question comes from Frost Action in section Soil Water Effective and Neutral Stresses of Geotechnical Engineering I

Answer 1

Right answer is (c) 3.6 %

Best explanation: There is an increase of about 9% in the volume, when water is converted in to ice. Therefore

Expansion of the soil = 0.009×40

=3.6 %.