Coupled Thermal-Hydraulic-Electromagnetic Properties of Frozen Soils
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 38, Issue 2
Abstract
This study focuses on the investigation of the electromagnetic properties of multiphase inorganic materials (i.e., soils) in changing subsurface environmental conditions that are induced by climate warming. Subsurface warming in cold regions exacerbates the spatial and temporal evolution of frozen soil properties; therefore, an accurate characterization of the unfrozen water and ice content of frozen soils under different thermal conditions has become a pressing need. Several studies focused on the effect of the initial hydraulic properties on the electromagnetic properties of soils. However, detailed systematic studies on the influence of the combined effects of temperature, initial degree of saturation, applied frequency fields, and experiment scales are limited. This study aims to characterize the dielectric and electrical behavior of ice-bearing inorganic soils under the coupled effects of thermal, hydraulic, and electromagnetic conditions. A series of laboratory experiments were performed on soil samples that had different initial degrees of saturation and dry density values by electromagnetic impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and time domain reflectometry (TDR) between −10°C and 5°C. The results from the experiments revealed that the dielectric constant of the inorganic soils decreased with increasing frequency, decreasing initial volumetric water content (VWC), and temperature. The electrical resistivity values decreased with increasing frequency values, initial water content, and temperatures. In addition, the unfrozen water contents at different temperatures were calculated using a modified power law that accounts for the temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity of water and was compared with the TDR measurements. The outcomes of this study could help elucidate the intricate mechanisms of the particle–water–ice interface and their influence on the behavior of frozen soils that are needed for sustainable built and natural environments in cold regions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes generated or used during this study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
Funding from Air Force Scientific Research with grants FA9550-21-1-0175 and FA9550-21-1-0251 is greatly appreciated. The opinions presented here belong to the authors alone.
References
Abhinav, A., and T. Baser. 2023a. “An experimental investigation of thermally induced hydraulic hysteresis in frozen unsaturated silts.” In Proc., Geo-Congress 2023: Geotechnical Systems From Pore-Scale to City-Scale, 561–571. Los Angeles, CA: The Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Abhinav, A., and T. Baser. 2023b. “Undrained shear strength of frozen unsaturated silts.” In Vol. 382 of Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils. Milos, Greece: Hellenic Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (HSSMGE).
Abufares, L., Q. Cao, and I. L. Al-Qadi. 2023. “Model development for moisture content and density prediction for non-dry asphalt concrete using GPR data.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 24 (1): 2189720. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2023.2189720.
Angulo-Sherman, A., and H. Mercado-Uribe. 2011. “Dielectric spectroscopy of water at low frequencies: The existence of an isopermitive point.” Chem. Phys. Lett. 503 (4–6): 327–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2011.01.027.
Annan, A. P., and J. L. Davis. 1976. “Impulse radar sounding in permafrost.” Radio Sci. 11 (4): 383–394. https://doi.org/10.1029/RS011i004p00383.
Archie, G. E. 1942. “The electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoir characteristics.” Trans 146: 54–62.
Baser, T., A. Abhinav, and I. Mineyev. 2022, December. “Determination of ice content using latent heat during soil freezing and thawing.” In Vol. 2022 of Proc., AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. Chicago, IL: American Geophysical Union.
Bertolini, D., M. Cassettari, and G. Salvetti. 1982. “The dielectric relaxation time of supercooled water.” J. Chem. Phys. 76 (6): 3285–3290. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.443323.
Birchak, J. R., C. G. Gardner, J. E. Hipp, and J. M. Victor. 1974. “High dielectric constant microwave probes for sensing soil moisture.” Proc. IEEE 62 (1): 93–98. https://doi.org/10.1109/PROC.1974.9388.
Bittelli, M., M. Flury, and K. Roth. 2004. “Use of dielectric spectroscopy to estimate ice content in frozen porous media.” Water Resour. Res. 40 (4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2003WR002343.
Bloomfield, J. P., C. R. Jackson, and M. E. Stuart. 2013. “Changes in groundwater levels, temperature and quality in the UK over the 20th century: An assessment of evidence of impacts from climate change.” Living With Environmental Change Report, 14. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/503271/.
Brown, W. F. 1956. Dielectrics in encyclopedia of physics, 15–16. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Cao, Q., L. Abufares, and I. Al-Qadi. 2022. “Development of a simulation-based approach for cold in-place recycled pavement moisture-content prediction using ground-penetrating radar.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2676 (10): 682–694. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221090933.
Chaney, R. C., K. R. Demars, J. Q. Shang, R. K. Rowe, J. A. Umana, and J. W. Scholte. 1999. “A complex permittivity measurement system for undisturbed/compacted soils.” Geotech. Test. J. 22 (2): 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ11275J.
Chelidze, T. L., and Y. Gueguen. 1999. “Electrical spectroscopy of porous rocks: A review-I.theoretical models.” Geophys. J. Int. 137 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-246x.1999.00799.x.
Chelidze, T. L., Y. Gueguen, and C. Ruffet. 1999. “Electrical spectroscopy of porous rocks: A review-II. experimental results and interpretation.” Geophys. J. Int. 137 (1): 16–34. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-246x.1999.00800.x.
Cherniak, G. I., and URSS (Vsesoûznyj naučno-issledovatelʹskij institut gidrogeologii i inženernoj geologii). 1967. Dielectric methods for investigating moist soils. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.
Dagesse, D. F. 2010. “Freezing-induced bulk soil volume changes.” Can. J. Soil Sci. 90 (3): 389–401. https://doi.org/10.4141/CJSS09054.
Dobson, M., F. Ulaby, M. Hallikainen, and M. El-Rayes. 1985. “Microwave dielectric behavior of wet soil-Part II: Dielectric mixing models.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. GE-23 (1): 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.1985.289498.
Dukhin, S. S., V. N. Shilov, and J. J. Bikerman. 1974. “Dielectric phenomena and double layer in disperse systems and polyelectrolytes.” J. Electrochem. Soc. 121 (4): 154C. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2402374.
Fernandez Santoyo, S., J. G. Tom Jr, and T. Baser. 2021. “Impact of subsurface warming on the capacity of helical piles installed in permafrost layers.” In Proc., Int. Foundation Congress and Equipment Expo, 239–248. Dallas, TX: International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC).
Figura, S., D. M. Livingstone, E. Hoehn, and R. Kipfer. 2011. “Regime shift in groundwater temperature triggered by the Arctic Oscillation.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 38 (23). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049749.
González-Teruel, J. D., S. B. Jones, F. Soto-Valles, R. Torres-Sánchez, I. Lebron, S. P. Friedman, and D. A. Robinson. 2020. “Dielectric spectroscopy and application of mixing models describing dielectric dispersion in clay minerals and clayey soils.” Sensors 20 (22): 6678. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20226678.
Green, T. R., M. Taniguchi, H. Kooi, J. J. Gurdak, D. M. Allen, K. M. Hiscock, H. Treidel, and A. Aureli. 2011. “Beneath the surface of global change: Impacts of climate change on groundwater.” J. Hydrol. 405 (3–4): 532–560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.05.002.
Guo, Y., S. Xu, and W. Shan. 2018. “Development of a frozen soil dielectric constant model and determination of dielectric constant variation during the soil freezing process.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 151: 28–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2018.03.006.
Hallikainen, M., F. Ulaby, M. Dobson, M. El-Rayes, and L.-k. Wu. 1985. “Microwave dielectric behavior of wet soil-part 1: Empirical models and experimental observations.” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. GE-23 (1): 25–34. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.1985.289497.
Hardie, M. 2020. “Review of novel and emerging proximal soil moisture sensors for use in agriculture.” Sensors 20 (23): 6934. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20236934.
Hauck, C. 2002. “Frozen ground monitoring using DC resistivity tomography.” Geophys. Res. Lett. 29 (21): 12–11. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL014995.
He, H., and M. Dyck. 2013. “Application of multiphase dielectric mixing models for understanding the effective dielectric permittivity of frozen soils.” Vadose Zone J. 12 (1): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2012.0060.
He, H., M. Dyck, Y. Zhao, B. Si, H. Jin, T. Zhang, J. Lv, and J. Wang. 2016. “Evaluation of five composite dielectric mixing models for understanding relationships between effective permittivity and unfrozen water content.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 130: 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2016.07.006.
Heimovaara, T. J., E. J. G. De Winter, W. K. P. Van Loon, and D. C. Esveld. 1996. “Frequency-dependent dielectric permittivity from 0 to 1 GHz: Time domain reflectometry measurements compared with frequency domain network analyzer measurements.” Water Resour. Res. 32 (12): 3603–3610. https://doi.org/10.1029/96WR02695.
Hodge, I. M., and C. A. Angell. 1978. “The relative permittivity of supercooled water.” J. Chem. Phys. 68 (4): 1363–1368. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.435955.
Hoekstra, P., and A. Delaney. 1974. “Dielectric properties of soils at UHF and microwave frequencies.” J. Geophys. Res. 79 (11): 1699–1708. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB079i011p01699.
Idries, A., M. Y. Abu-Farsakh, and S. Chen. 2022. “Effect of one cycle of heating-cooling on the clay-concrete pile interface shear strength parameters.” Transp. Geotech. 36: 100810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2022.100810.
Jesch, R. L. 1978. Dielectric measurements of five different soil textural types as functions of frequency and moisture content. Boulder, CO: Electromagnetic Fields Division, National Bureau of Standards.
Koziar, A., and D. W. Strangway. 1975. “Magnetotelluric sounding of permafrost.” Science 190 (4214): 566–568. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.190.4214.566.
Kurylyk, B. L., C. A.-P. Bourque, and K. T. B. MacQuarrie. 2013. “Potential surface temperature and shallow groundwater temperature response to climate change: An example from a small forested catchment in east-central New Brunswick (Canada).” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 17 (7): 2701–2716. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2701-2013.
Levitskaya, T. M., and B. K. Sternberg. 2019. Electrical spectroscopy of earth materials. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.
Lijith, K. P., V. Sharma, and D. N. Singh. 2021. “A methodology to establish freezing characteristics of partially saturated sands.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 189: 103333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2021.103333.
Mao, Y., E. E. Romero Morales, and A. Gens Solé. 2016. “Exploring ice content on partially saturated soils using dielectric permittivity and bulk electrical conductivity measurements.” In Vol. 9 of Proc., 3rd European Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, 1–6. Paris, France: E3S Web of Conferences.
Mao, Y., E. E. Romero Morales, and A. Gens Solé. 2018. “Ice formation in unsaturated frozen soils.” In Porc., 7th Int. Conf. on Unsaturated Soils, 597–602. London: International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.
McNeill, D., and P. Hoekstra. 1973. “In-situ measurements on the conductivity and surface impedance of sea ice at VLF.” Radio Sci. 8 (1): 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1029/RS008i001p00023.
Menberg, K., P. Blum, B. L. Kurylyk, and P. Bayer. 2014. “Observed groundwater temperature response to recent climate change.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18 (11): 4453–4466. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4453-2014.
Nawaz, K., and T. Baser. 2023. “Effect of degree of saturation on behavior of helical piles in frozen soils.” In Proc., Geo-Congress 2023: Foundations, Retaining Structures, and Geosynthetics, 14–23. Los Angeles, CA: The Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Pátek, J., J. Hrubý, J. Klomfar, M. Součková, and A. H. Harvey. 2009. “Reference correlations for thermophysical properties of liquid water at 0.1MPa.” J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 38 (1): 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3043575.
Patterson, D. E., and M. W. Smith. 1981. “The measurement of unfrozen water content by time domain reflectometry: Results from laboratory tests.” Can. Geotech. J. 18 (1): 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1139/t81-012.
Rhoades, J. D., P. A. C. Raats, and R. J. Prather. 1976. “Effects of liquid-phase electrical conductivity, water content, and surface conductivity on bulk soil electrical conductivity.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 40 (5): 651–655. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1976.03615995004000050017x.
Risman, P. O., and B. Wäppling-Raaholt. 2007. “Retro-modelling of a dual resonant applicator and accurate dielectric properties of liquid water from −20°C to +100°C.” Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 (4): 959. https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/18/4/001.
Roth, K., R. Schulin, H. Flühler, and W. Attinger. 1990. “Calibration of time domain reflectometry for water content measurement using a composite dielectric approach.” Water Resour. Res. 26 (10): 2267–2273.
Santoyo, S. F., and T. Baser. 2022. “A review of the existing data on soil-freezing experiments and assessment of soil-freezing curves derived from soil–water retention curves.” J. Cold Reg. Eng. 36 (1): 04021020. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CR.1943-5495.0000271.
Smith, M. W., and D. E. Patterson. 1984. “Determining the unfrozen water content in soils by time-domain reflectometry: Research note.” Atmos. Ocean 22 (2): 261–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.1984.9649198.
Smith, M. W., and A. R. Tice. 1988. “Measurement of unfrozen water content of soils: Comparison of NMR and TDR methods.” CRREL Rep., Hanover, NH: U.S. Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
Sternberg, B. K., and T. M. Levitskaya. 2001. “Electrical parameters of soils in the frequency range from 1 kHz to 1 GHz, using lumped-circuit methods.” Radio Sci. 36 (4): 709–719. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999RS002232.
Tian, Z., L. Wang, and T. Ren. 2023. “Measuring soil freezing characteristic curve with thermo-time domain reflectometry.” European J. Soil Sci., 74 (1): e13335. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR016i003p00574.
Topp, G. C., J. L. Davis, and A. P. Annan. 1980. “Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: Measurements in coaxial transmission lines.” Water Resour. Res. 16 (3): 574–582. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR016i003p00574.
Topp, G. C., and T. P. A. Ferré. 2005. “Time-domain reflectometry.” In Encyclopedia of soils in the environment, 174–181. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.
Tsytovich, N. A. 1960. Bases and foundations on frozen soil. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council.
Watanabe, K., and M. Flury. 2008. “Capillary bundle model of hydraulic conductivity for frozen soil.” Water Resour. Res. 44 (12): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007012.
Watanabe, K., and T. Wake. 2008, June. “Hydraulic conductivity in frozen unsaturated soil.” In Vol. 29 of Proc., 9th Int. Conf. on Permafrost, 1927–1932. Fairbanks, AK: Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks.
Watanabe, K., and T. Wake. 2009. “Measurement of unfrozen water content and relative permittivity of frozen unsaturated soil using NMR and TDR.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 59 (1): 34–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2009.05.011.
Wen, Z., W. Ma, W. Feng, Y. Deng, D. Wang, Z. Fan, and C. Zhou. 2012. “Experimental study on unfrozen water content and soil matric potential of Qinghai-Tibetan silty clay.” Environ. Earth Sci. 66 (5): 1467–1476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1386-0.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 38 • Issue 2 • June 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 6, 2023
Accepted: Sep 17, 2023
Published online: Feb 7, 2024
Published in print: Jun 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 7, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.