Formulation and Characterization of Freezing Saturated Soils
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 2
Abstract
The writers have derived a unified governing equation for freezing saturated soils. This equation considers the governing mechanisms with respect to individual thermal and hydraulic fields. The writers included coupling effects such as the thermodynamic equilibrium on the water-ice interface. The morphology of the solid matrix and the physical chemistry of the water-ice interface have also been incorporated. The equation is comprised of terms with clear physical meanings. Typical properties that are indicative of freezing soils, e.g., segregation potential, can be derived from this equation. The writers discuss the material properties that are required for implementation of the equation. For the conventional parameters in the equation, i.e., thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and hydraulic conductivity, the corresponding mathematical descriptions were investigated. The functions for prediction of these parameters during the soil freezing process are presented. The writers have also proposed a relationship between the temperature and unfrozen water content for characterization of freezing saturated soils. The writers propose that the measurement of this relationship be conducted with a new technique that uses a thermo–time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensor. The writers have described detailed sensor and experiment designs for measuring this new relationship and have compared the results with data that were measured with a standard method.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 2 • June 2013
Pages: 94 - 107
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 8, 2011
Accepted: Aug 31, 2012
Published online: Sep 3, 2012
Published in print: Jun 1, 2013
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