On the nature of the minimum creep rate – time correlation for soil, ice, and frozen soil

This technical note examines the nature and consequences of the linear correlation observed between the logarithm of the minimum creep rate, and the logarithm of the time to reach this minimum creep rate, tm, in soil, ice, and frozen soil. Simple mathematical creep models show that this correlation is due to the existence of an approximately constant strain at the minimum strain rate, and the relative insensitivity of the double logarithmic plot to small deviations from this approximately constant strain. Keywords: creep, failure, frozen soil, ice, unfrozen soil.