Constitutive Model for Thermo–Hydro–Mechanical Behaviors of Saturated Partially Frozen Cohesionless Soils: A Theoretical Pore-Scale Study
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 4
Abstract
The thermo–hydro–mechanical (THM) behaviors of frozen soils are often modeled based on the thermodynamic fluxes of moisture and heat. However, existing models disregard the pore-scale granular interaction between the soil grain and ice crystal for saturated partially frozen soils. The pore-scale mechanism of pore-filling and load-bearing for the ice phase in the loaded soil skeleton has not been explored. An alternative constitutive model is therefore proposed by considering the microscopic temperature-dependent distribution of the ice phase for pore-filling and load-bearing in the soil interpore. This reflects the influence of the ice phase on the soil stress states and the associated THM behaviors as interpreted based on the critical state framework. The model was validated by published experimental results and considerably captured undrained shearing behaviors of frozen soils at various temperatures and confining pressures. A numerical parametric study was conducted to investigate the dependency of the phase relationship, stress state, undrained shear strength, and soil stiffness on temperature. The modeling suggests that the ice crystals filling in the pore are partially load-bearing to affect the soil stiffness and partially unloaded to alter the stress state. It shows that freezing turns the soil into a heavily consolidated state by increasing the specific volume and decreasing the effective granular void ratio. The undrained shear strength of frozen soils increases with a decrease in temperature because the dilatancy is enhanced due to the ice invasion in the interpore. It also demonstrates that soil stiffness is influenced by not only the stress state but the freezing history. This study highlights the temperature-dependency of mechanical behaviors and the validity of using the concept of stress states to interpret the pore-scale mechanistic soil–water–ice interactions for frozen soils.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by USDOE (United States Department of Education) GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) Program (Grant No. P200A210109) and supported by the Broad Agency Announcement Program and the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) under Contract No. W913E523C0007. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Broad Agency Announcement Program and the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The authors would also thank anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and insightful suggestions.
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 4, 2023
Accepted: Nov 3, 2023
Published online: Jan 17, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 17, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Cohesionless soils
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Frozen soils
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Measurement (by type)
- Porous media
- Saturated soils
- Shear strength
- Soft soils
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soil stress
- Soils (by type)
- Strength of materials
- Temperature effects
- Temperature measurement
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