Influence of freeze–thaw on the stability of road cut slopes —a case study in the Indian Himalayan region

Abstract

The rock slopes in the Indian Himalayan region are exposed to recurrent freeze–thaw (FT). FT testing (0–30 FT cycles) was carried out in the laboratory on the rock samples collected from the Indian Himalayan region. The result shows a reduction of 27%–39% in rock strength. Microscopic damages were observed in SEM images. Further, a three-dimensional numerical analysis was performed to evaluate the stability and corroborate the results with the field observations. FT conditioning results reveal a 10%–39% decrease in the safety factor for rock slopes. © 2022 The Author(s).