The equipment is designed to allow simulation of a minimum distance of 50 cm between the frost front and the ground water. The equipment consists of two Perspex tubes, the suction tube, and the cap. Water can be taken up freely by the sample trough the suction tube.
Undisturbed soil sample is pressed into the suction tube so it reaches 11 cm above the top of the tube. The cap is placed on the sample and the lid rests on the top of the sample. This design is intended to allow the sample to freeze within the cap, which will be lifted without any resistance from adfreezing. The frost front always remains within the cap.
The freezing test is performed in a cooled room with a temperature of 4–6°C. Before starting the test, a cooling element is placed on the lid of the cap, the cap is insulated and the freezing tube is placed in a bowl of shallow water. Weights are placed on top of the cooling element to simulate a certain ground pressure and a position transmitter is placed on top to record frost heave. The bowl of water is provided with a device to ensure the water level is kept constant during testing and water uptake is recorded. Thermometers are placed along th cap. A very thin layer of the wall of the cap separates the thermometers from the sample.