Experimental and Numerical Analyses of Freezing Behavior of an Embankment in Cold Regions

Frost heave is the prevailing damage to the embankment in cold regions. It is a challenge to ascertain frost damage behavior of the embankment due to the complication of freezing-thawing process involving water migration, heat convection process of water, ice-water phase transition, and frost heave. To investigate the freezing behavior of the embankment, a hydro-thermo-mechanical numerical model is deduced, and an embankment model test is carried out. Finally, the moisture, temperature, and deformation during the freezing-thawing process are analyzed. The results show that (1) there exist two warm frozen layers and a frozen layer at the bottom of the embankment at the time of the minimum air temperature and at the time of the maximum thaw depth, respectively. (2) Under the drive of temperature gradient, the water migrates and the redistributions occur. The soil in the freezing-thawing front is filled with unfrozen water and ice, and its water content is high, which directly lead to frost heave. (3) The horizontal deformation at the shoulder is larger than those in other zones, which easily leads to denudation damage. Meantime, the deformation difference between the shoulder and middle will lead to the longitudinal cracks and consequently embankment failures. The study will provide a theoretical basis and reference for the design, maintenance and research of embankment in cold regions.

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Variations of the temperatures and volumetric unfrozen water contents of fine-grained soils during a freezing–thawing process

Acta Geotechnica ◽

10.1007/s11440-018-0720-z ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 595-601 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Mingyi Zhang ◽

Xiyin Zhang ◽

Yuanming Lai ◽

Jianguo Lu ◽

Chong Wang

Keyword(s):

Unfrozen Water ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Thawing Process ◽

Water Contents

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Shallow soil moisture – ground thaw interactions and controls – Part 1: Spatiotemporal patterns and correlations over a subarctic landscape

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-14-1375-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 1375-1386 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

X. J. Guan ◽

C. J. Westbrook ◽

C. Spence

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Surface Soil ◽

Companion Paper ◽

Hydrological Models ◽

Runoff Generation ◽

Cold Regions ◽

Shallow Soil ◽

Thaw Depth ◽

Study Sites ◽

Simple Link

Abstract. Soil moisture and ground thaw state are both indicative of a hillslope's ability to transfer water. In cold regions, in particular, it is widely known that the depth of the active layer and wetness of surface soils are important for runoff generation, but the diversity of interactions between ground thaw and surface soil moisture themselves has not been studied. To fill this knowledge gap, detailed shallow soil moisture and thaw depth surveys were conducted along systematic grids at the Baker Creek Basin, Northwest Territories. Multiple hillslopes were studied to determine how the interactions differed along a spectrum of topological, typological and topographic situations across the landscape. Overall results did not show a simple link between soil moisture and ground thaw as was expected. Instead, correlation was a function of wetness. The interaction between soil moisture and ground thaw was more dependent at wetter sites. This indicates that interactive soil moisture and thaw depth behaviour on hillslopes in cold regions changes with location and cannot necessarily be lumped together in hydrological models. To explore further why these differences arise, a companion paper (Guan et al., 2010) will examine how the hydrological and energy fluxes influenced the patterns of moisture and thaw among the study sites.

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Towards a nudging of stratospheric overshoots in the 3D mesoscale BRAMS model

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1323 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Justine Pichon ◽

Emmanuel Riviere ◽

Abhinna Behera ◽

Jeremie Burgalat

Keyword(s):

Mesoscale Model ◽

Water Concentration ◽

Global Scale ◽

Satellite Measurement ◽

Model Categories ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Water Ice ◽

Convective Clouds ◽

Starting Point ◽

Ice Water

Water repartition in the stratosphere is a key compound in the atmospheric chemical and radiative equilibrium. Since the 80&#8217;s, an increase of the water concentration in the stratosphere has been observed.This presence in the stratosphere can be explained by the slow ascent of air mass above convective clouds in tropical regions. The amount of water vapor entering in the stratosphere depends on the coldest temperature and countered during this slow ascent because it can lead to ice cristal formation that sediment and dehydrate the air masses. But some other processes may contribute to the stratospheric water budget, especially to explain the increase of water vapor. Stratospheric overshoots phenomenon can take part in the stratospheric hydratation, by injecting directly water ice in the stratosphere. Injected ice water, by sublimation, will hydrate stratosphere locally. The local role of overshoots is better known but their contributions at the global scale steal need to be quantified. In order to estimate this contribution, previous studies have used the 3D simulation mesoscale model BRAMS to show overshoot impact in the upper Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). These studies are the starting point of our study.The aim of this paper is to present the new development inside BRAMS to nudge stratospheric ice injection by overshoots. It uses an overshoot occurrence climatology from MHS (Microwave Humidity Sounder) satellite measurement. Ice injection in the model is made according to ice model categories previously shown to be present in the overshoot plumes with ratios already diagnosed in previous studies. Ice injection is made between two layers of TTL&#8217;s stratospheric part: between 380 and 385K and between 385 et 400K. Nudging is triggered only if, in the grid mesh (20 x 20 km) where MHS has detected an overshoot, BRAMS computes a cumulonimbus with a top above 13.5km. For the layer above 385 K isentrope, a subgrid box of 2 km x 2 km is considered for the computation of ice injection. Sensibility test of this nudging scheme will be presented in this presentation.&#160;

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Study on the Intelligent Evaluation System of Tunnel Frost Damage in Cold Regions Based on the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model

Mathematical Problems in Engineering ◽

10.1155/2020/3153670 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Dao-yuan Wang ◽

Yong-quan Zhu ◽

Guang-yao Cui ◽

Yong-jun Luan ◽

Hai-long Cui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influencing Factors ◽

Evaluation System ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Frost Damage ◽

Cold Regions ◽

Research Results ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation Model ◽

Tunnel Design

At present, the tunnel design specifications in China do not provide a clear and systematic intelligent evaluation system of tunnel frost damage in cold regions. Based on the research results of 122 seasonal frozen soil tunnels in high-latitude areas of China, four key influencing factors of geohydrology, temperature, surrounding rock, and engineering measures were determined, the intelligent fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model was established, the weights of all factors were considered, and the intelligent evaluation technology system of tunnel frost damage in cold areas had been put forward. Meanwhile, the rationality of the intelligent model was verified by a specific engineering case. The research suggests that the intelligent evaluation model of tunnel frost damage proposed in this paper can accurately describe the relationship of influencing factors of tunnel frost damage in cold areas, the weight of each influencing factor is calculated by using analytic hierarchy process, and the main risk sources of tunnel frost damage in cold areas are found out. The intelligent evaluation model is an efficient and practical method for Intelligent prediction of frost damage. By using the subordinate function method, the improvement from qualitative analysis to quantitative index calculation is realized. The blindness of engineering analogy construction is avoided, and the scientificity and accuracy of renovation measures for frost damage have been improved. At the same time, the research results provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of the intelligent evaluation system of tunnel frost damage in cold regions.

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Addendum to “Computational modelling of frost heave induced soil-pipeline interaction I. Modelling of frost heave” [Cold Regions Science and Technology 29 (1999) 215–228]

Cold Regions Science and Technology ◽

10.1016/s0165-232x(00)00014-8 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 173

Author(s):

A.P.S. Selvadurai ◽

J. Hu ◽

I. Konuk

Keyword(s):

Science And Technology ◽

Computational Modelling ◽

Frost Heave ◽

Cold Regions

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Effect of fines content on frost heave

Canadian Geotechnical Journal ◽

10.1139/t96-092-313 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 678-680 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Robert E Tester ◽

Paul N Gaskin

Keyword(s):

Key Words ◽

Frost Heave ◽

Cold Regions ◽

Fines Content ◽

Frost Action ◽

Road Base ◽

Pavement Structures ◽

Freezing Test ◽

Crushed Limestone ◽

The U.S

In regions of seasonal frost the integrity of pavement structures is dependent on the resistance of base and subbase soils to frost action. This note describes the results of performing the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory CRREL II laboratory freezing test on a crushed limestone with a varying fines content. Frost heave increased linearly as fines content increased. Under the CRREL frost susceptibility criterion, the crushed gravel was satisfactory with up to 8% fines. A greater fines content resulted in an unsatisfactory classification. Key words: frost susceptibility, fines content, road base.

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Crack Velocity Measurements in Sea Ice

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-362-85 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 362 ◽

Author(s):

Oleg Gluschenkov ◽

Victor Petrenko

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Electrical Resistance ◽

Crack Velocity ◽

Electromagnetic Emission ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Unfrozen Water ◽

Dynamic Resistance ◽

Velocity Measurements ◽

Water Ice ◽

Crack Dynamics

AbstractTo study crack dynamics in sea ice fast measurements of ice electrical resistance and an electromagnetic emission (EME) from cracks were used. The sample dimensions ranged from 0.05 to 30 meters. In a laboratory grown fresh water ice crack velocities varied from a few hundreds to a thousand meters per second while in the natural sea ice crack velocity was very low, about 10 m/s. This remarkable difference in the crack velocities is likely due to the dynamic resistance of unfrozen water in brine pockets and channels and to the high ductility of sea ice. It was found that the cracks propagate in ice discontinuously owing to the strong interaction with such microstructural elements as liquid inclusions and grain boundaries. The high sensitivity of the method allowed to detect nucleation of very first microcracks.

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Field frost heave measurement and prediction during periods of seasonal frost

Canadian Geotechnical Journal ◽

10.1139/t90-050 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 393-397 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

H. N. Hayhoe ◽

D. Balchin

Keyword(s):

Temperature Gradient ◽

Displacement Transducer ◽

Linear Displacement ◽

Time Domain Reflectometry ◽

Frost Heave ◽

Unfrozen Water ◽

Data Logger ◽

Unfrozen Water Content ◽

Frost Penetration ◽

Displacement Transducers

Frost heave measurements were taken over two winter seasons on a clay loam soil located near Ottawa, Canada. Heaving was measured using linear displacement transducers attached to a metal frame that was anchored in the soil below the depth of frost penetration. The output of the displacement transducer was recorded hourly using a microcomputer-based data logger. The system functioned reliably and the observed data compared well with published measurements.Soil temperature was recorded simultaneously using thermocouples. Time-domain reflectometry was used to measure the unfrozen water content. The study shows that soil temperature measurements can be used to estimate the temperature gradient at the freezing front for determining the cumulative frost heave, as suggested by the Konrad–Morgenstern theory of ice segregation processes. Key words: frost heave, temperature, gradient, displacement transducer, segregational potential.

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