A Coupled Thermal‐Hydraulic‐Mechanical Approach to Modeling the Impact of Roadbed Frost Loading on Water Main Failure

Abstract

Subsurface pipe failures in cold regions are generally believed to be exacerbated by differential strain in shallow soils induced by seasonal freeze and thaw cycles. The transient stress–strain fields resulting from soil water phase change may influence the occurrence of local buried pipe breaks including those related to urban water mains. This work proposes that freezing‐induced frost loading results in uneven stress–strain distributions along the buried water mains placing them at risk of bending, breaking, and/or leaking. A coupled thermal‐hydraulic‐mechanical (THM) model was developed to illustrate the interactions among moisture, temperature, and stress–strain fields within variably saturated freezing soils. Several typical cases involving highly frost‐susceptible and lower frost‐susceptible soils underlying roadbeds were examined. Results show that the magnitude of frost‐induced compressive stress and strain changes between different frost‐susceptible soils can vary significantly. Such substantial differences in stress–strain fields would increase the breakage risk of water mains buried within different types of soils. Furthermore, even water mains buried within soils with low frost‐susceptibility are at risk when additional sources of soil water exist and are available to migrate to the freezing front. To reduce the risk of damage to buried pipe‐like infrastructure, such as municipal water mains, from soil freezing phenomena, the selected backfill material should have fairly consistent frost susceptibility or a broad zone of transition should be considered between materials with significantly different frost susceptibility. In addition, buried pipes should be kept as far away from external sources of subsurface water as possible considering the potential for the water source to exacerbate the level of risk to the pipe.

[Retracted] Static and Dynamic Demonstration of the Ecological Level of Ethnic Cultural Industries Based on the Internet of Things and Environmental Responsibility

“…The climate here is moderately sunny and rainy, which is suitable for agricultural production. The soil here is fertile, generally clay or clay-sand mixed with humus, which is suitable for cultivating paddy fields [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Numerical Study of Coupled Water and Vapor Flow, Heat Transfer, and Solute Transport in Variably‐Saturated Deformable Soil During Freeze‐Thaw Cycles

“…(2004). An empirical equation relating the local porosity to volumetric strain is used to describe the effect of deformation on soil porosity (e.g., Chin et al., 2000; Huang et al., 2022), that is $$\phi =1-\left(1-{\phi }_{0}\right){e}^{-{\varepsilon }_{\mathrm{v}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{l}}}$$, where ϕ 0 is the initial soil porosity under non‐frozen conditions.…”

“…However, the inputs used to calculate R n not only depend on measurements at the real‐world field site but also involve many empirical parameters (e.g., van de Griend & Owe, 1994; Zheng et al., 2002). Another simplified way of representing the upper thermal boundary is only considering the convective heat flux (also known as mixed boundary or Fourier boundary), which is calculated by the following formula (e.g., Arzanfudi & Al‐Khoury, 2018; Hansson et al., 2004; Huang et al., 2022): $$${q}_{T}={h}_{c}\left({T}_{s}-{T}_{a}\right)$$$ where h c is the convective heat transfer coefficient (W · m −2 · K −1 ) representing the inverse of the surface resistance to heat exchange by taking into account the interfacial effect between the soil surface and air. This simplified formulation for heat flux across the ground surface was adopted for the current model.…”

“…A changing climate increases the variability in hydrologic dynamics within periglacial landforms and particularly in the subsurface, where freezing and thawing conditions can exist. For example, water (moisture) movement in freezing soils plays a crucial role in frost heave and subsequently thaw settlement, processes that must be considered while assessing slope stability in the construction of infrastructure such as paved roadways and buried pipelines and landform evolution (e.g., Huang et al., 2022; Williams & Smith, 1989). Subsurface water flow and storage dynamics in seasonally frozen soils are very different from those within the perennially frozen ground (permafrost) or in warmer regions with negligible frozen soil (e.g., Ireson et al., 2013; Zheng et al., 2002).…”

New Insights Into Freezing Behavior of Saturated and Air‐Entrained Porous Media via a Micromechanics‐Based Thermo‐Hydro‐Mechanical Model

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The freezing behavior of porous media, such as soils, rock, and cement-based materials, to name but a few, seriously endanger the safety of infrastructures in cold regions (Huang et al, 2022;Peng et al, 2016;Sheshukov & Nieber, 2011). Even though the famous air-entrainment method is normally used to reduce the severe swelling of porous media during freezing, frost damage is still a frequent occurrence (Beaudoin & MacInnis, 1974;Everett, 1961;Fagerlund, 1977).

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