Journal of Cold Regions Engineering

Artificial ground freezing (AGF) has been applied widely in the construction of urban transportation infrastructure in China for the last two decades. This study provides a comprehensive review of the regional application, distribution, new developments, existing problems, and challenges of AGF. The innovative achievements of AGF in theory and technology are presented using selected prominent or typical engineering examples. Accidents or problems occurring in previous projects and the engineering risks of AGF technology were analyzed. In addition, the competition and integration of AGF technology with other construction methods are discussed. Furthermore, future research needs, including freezing tube installation issues related to directional drilling, miniaturization of construction equipment, artificial intelligence, information technology, and construction safety, are proposed. Finally, the expectations of AGF technology in urban development are predicted based on the new policies of urban groundwater protection issued in recent years.

Limited field investigations have evaluated the impact of traffic on the snow melting capacity of salts. This paper will describe an extensive field study that includes 1,200 tests that are conducted during 100 snow events over three winter seasons (2012, 2013, and 2014) to quantify the traffic impact on snow melting capacity. The tests will be conducted in an active parking lot, and on parking stalls and driveways, which could increase the applicability of the results to real-world scenarios. The deicing performance of salt will be compared between both areas with different traffic patterns for bare pavement regain time (BPRT). The developed model quantified the reduction in BPRT from 21% for a low traffic volume of 5 vehicles/h to an 86% reduction for a high traffic volume of 50 vehicles/h. The deicing performance models that were calibrated for parking stalls and driveways could be directly used to determine the most cost-effective application rates to treat parking lots and sidewalks based on specific weather, facilities, and traffic conditions.

In cold regions, the construction of engineered structures such as roads and embankments experiences alternate freezing and thawing cycles, thus affecting their long-term stability or durability. This research aims to investigate the impact of freeze–thaw cycles on the geotechnical characteristics of red mud tailing (bauxite residue) stabilized with two biopolymers, guar gum (GG) and xanthan gum (XG). The effect of elevated temperature during sample preparation (thermogelation) on the strength and durability was also studied. Red mud tailing samples stabilized at various concentrations (0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, and1.5%) and curing periods (7, 14, and 28 days) were exposed to 10 freeze–thaw cycles. The results showed the efficacy of thermogelation biopolymers in enhancing the compressive strength and freeze and thaw resistance compared to other treated conditions. Also, post-freeze–thaw conditioning, the results showed maximum recovery of strength at 14 days of curing period when the temperature was constantly above 0°C. The findings postulated the biopolymer as a promising, environmentally friendly material for road constructions (particularly for subbase and shoulder) in cold regions.

Field measurements show that the seasonal change of the ambient temperature has a significant effect on the performance of geogrid-reinforced retaining (GRR) walls. To investigate the effect of the ambient temperature change on the temperature field inside the GRR walls and the mechanical behaviors of the GRR walls, two physical model tests were conducted using a custom-made model test box. The test box was encased within a temperature-controlled tank to simulate the ambient temperature change and thus to investigate the performance of the GRR walls under the seasonal ambient temperature change. Two types of backfill material, sand and clay, were used in the physical model tests to consider the backfill type effect. Settlement at the top surface, lateral deformation of facing panels, vertical and lateral earth pressures, and geogrid strains were monitored to understand the variation of mechanical performance of the GRR walls with the ambient temperature change. Test results demonstrated that: (1) the ambient temperature has a more significant influence on the temperature field inside the GRR model wall backfilled with sand than that inside the GRR model wall backfilled with clay; (2) under a low ambient temperature of −15°C, the temperature near both the top surface and facing panels decreased to below the freezing point and the vertical frost depth of the model GRR wall backfilled with sand was greater than that of the GRR model wall backfilled with clay; and (3) the measurements indicate that the ambient temperature has a more significant effect on the mechanical performance of the GRR model wall backfilled with clay than that of the wall backfilled with sand, especially under low ambient temperature (i.e., −5°C to −15°C).

McMurdo Station, Antarctica, serves as a major scientific and support operations hub for the US Antarctic Program (USAP). Winter Quarters Bay (WQB) is adjacent to the Station, where vessels dock at the southernmost port to unload cargo and fuel. The ice pier at McMurdo is vital to ensure this once-annual vessel resupply. The use of the ice pier requires the deployment of a Bailey bridge, which creates an operating bottleneck for resupply. The occasional breakup of the ice pier, during or immediately after vessel operations, demonstrates a potential point for failure. The feasibility of artificial freezing of seawater using thermopiles (TP; a passive cooling technology) to grow the existing WQB bottomfast ice edge to a point where ships could dock directly will be investigated in this study. The timing to freeze an ice dock depends on the air temperature, TP fin size, the distance between TPs, and the number of TP rows that are engaged simultaneously. The results indicated that to complete a bottomfast ice edge 40 m seaward and 100 m long that was parallel to the shore and adequate for ship docking and offload, it would take from 255 to 820 days. This study shows that TPs could successfully be used to generate a direct docking bottomfast ice wharf at McMurdo and similar locations.