Frost heave modelling using porosity rate function

Abstract

SUMMARYFrost-susceptible soils are characterized by their sensitivity to freezing that is manifested in heaving of the ground surface. While significant contributions to explaining the nature of frost heave in soils were published in late 1920s, modelling efforts did not start until decades later. Several models describing the heaving process have been developed in the past, but none of them has been generally accepted as a tool in engineering applications. The approach explored in this paper is based on the concept of the porosity rate function dependent on two primary material parameters: the maximum rate, and the temperature at which the maximum rate occurs. The porosity rate is indicative of ice growth, and this growth is also dependent on the temperature gradient and the stress state in the freezing soil. The advantage of this approach over earlier models stems from a formulation consistent with continuum mechanics that makes it possible to generalize the model to arbitrary three-dimensional processes, and use the standard numerical techniques in solving boundary value problems. The physical premise for the model is discussed first, and the development of the constitutive model is outlined. The model is implemented in a 2-D finite element code, and the porosity rate function is calibrated and validated. Effectiveness of the model is then illustrated in an example of freezing of a vertical cut in frost-susceptible soil.

Kinetic approach to modeling the freezing porous media: Application to the food freezing

“…It should be noted that the expressions (3.6) -(3.7) are widely known and used in scientific studies and engineering applications [42,43].…”

Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical Modeling of Frost Action in Frost-Susceptible Soils

“…The early proposals of this function were given by Michalowski (1993) and Michalowski and Zhu (2006). A slightly modified form of this function is used in the THM model…”

Multiphysical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Frost Heave and Thaw Settlement

“…The early proposals of this function were given by Michalowski (1993) and Michalowski and Zhu (2006), and the modified form used in THM model takes form …”

“…The unfrozen water content curve is used to identify the amount of pore ice formed during freezing. A 3-parameter function developed by Michalowski and Zhu (2006) is adopted here to describe the unfrozen water content in the frost susceptible soil (see Fig. 2).…”