Water–heat migration and frost-heave behavior of a saturated silty clay with a water supply

ABSTRACT

In this study, a large-scale one-directional freezing experiment with water supply was performed to investigate the water–heat migration and frost-heave behavior of the saturated silty clay. The results indicate that the temperature gradient is larger in the frozen zone than that in the unfrozen zone because of the heat release of the supplied water and its water–ice phase change during the freezing process. Furthermore, the different parts of the total frost heave are evaluated, respectively, and it is also found that the frost heave can be reduced if the advance rate of the freezing front is effectively controlled even if external water is sufficient.

KEYWORDS:

• Water–heat migration
• frost-heave behavior
• saturated silty clay
• one-directional freezing process
• Water supply

Funding

This research was supported by the 100-Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Granted to Dr. Mingyi Zhang), the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41471063], the Program of the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering [grant number SKLFSE-ZT-23], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41401087], the STS Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant number HHS-TSS-STS-1502], and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS [grant number 2012300 to Dr. Mingyi Zhang].

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the 100-Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Granted to Dr. Mingyi Zhang), the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41471063], the Program of the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering [grant number SKLFSE-ZT-23], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41401087], the STS Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant number HHS-TSS-STS-1502], and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS [grant number 2012300 to Dr. Mingyi Zhang].