Application of PIV Technique in Model Test of Frost Heave of Unsaturated Soil
Publication: Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 3
Abstract
Frost heave of soil is a highly nonuniform problem, in which the local deformation is much more severe and meaningful compared with the overall deformation. When soil is upon freezing, a water–ice phase change occurs and induces the migration of pore water. Subsequently, the distribution of temperature, water content, ice content, and fabric is highly nonuniform in frozen soil. The local frost deformation of soil mainly depends on the local temperature, soil water content, and ice content. In this study, the particle image velocimetry (PIV) method is introduced into the soil column test to monitor the local frost deformation. Several tracer particles are tested to overcome the difficulty that the deformation field is not clear in clay soil. The results demonstrate that the mixed sand is a suitable choice of tracer particles and can lead to clear contours of vertical displacement and strain. Such local deformation information is valuable and can be synthetically analyzed with the local temperature, soil water content, and ice content. The PIV technique is considered to be a good choice for monitoring the local frost deformation field in frozen soil.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
The data in the following figures are available upon reasonable request: Figs. 6(b), 7(a and b), 8(a and b), 9(a and b), 10(a and b), and 13(a–c).
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFC0404803), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51979002), and the IWHR Research and Development Support Program (Nos. GE0145B462017 and GE0145B692017).
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Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 3 • September 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 30, 2019
Accepted: Dec 23, 2019
Published online: May 20, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 20, 2020
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