Capillary Rise

Capillary rise is the rise in a liquid above the level of zero pressure due to a net upward force
produced by the attraction of the water molecules to a solid surface (e.g., soil or glass). Tabor, in
1930, recognized that frost heaving required substantially more water than was naturally
available in the soil pores (characterized as “moisture content”). He noted:

“The average soil seldom contains as much as 50 percent water, but if all the water in such a soil
were to freeze in situ, the change in volume could cause an uplift of less than 5 percent of the
depth of freezing. The depth of freezing in the colder parts of the United States seldom exceeds
2 or 3 feet; yet a surface heaving of 6 inches is not uncommon and an uplift of a couple of feet
has been reported.”