Frost heave characteristics of undisturbed sensitive Champlain Sea clay

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Konrad ◽  
J.T.C. Seto

Undisturbed Champlain Sea clay samples were subjected to laboratory freezing tests with pore-pressure measurements in order to determine the freezing characteristics of a structured compressible soil. Step-freezing and ramped-freezing tests with applied back pressure were conducted on 10 cm high samples in open-system conditions. Significant pore-pressure reductions in the unfrozen soil induce important frost-induced consolidation and destructuration of the clay. It was found that the freezing characteristics of Saint-Alban clay are best defined by the segregation potential at the active ice lens, SPℓ, which includes water fluxes generated within the frozen fringe and within the unfrozen soil as excess water is expelled during consolidation, and finally water from an external source. For the Saint-Alban clay, SPℓ values of the intact clay ranged between 450 and 600 × 10−5 mm2/(s °C), whereas those of destructured clay at a lower void ratio were significantly smaller. Back-calculating the segregation potential solely from surface heave measurements in laboratory tests may underestimate considerably the frost susceptibility of compressible structured clays. Segregation potential inferred from instrumented field sites was 430 × 10−5 mm2/(s °C) and is consistent with the laboratory tests results. Key words : freezing, frost heave, structured clay, undisturbed, consolidation.

Author(s):  
Yan Di ◽  
Jian Shuai ◽  
Lingzhen Kong ◽  
Xiayi Zhou

Frost heave must be considered in cases where pipelines are laid in permafrost in order to protect the pipelines from overstress and to maintain the safe operation. In this paper, a finite element model for stress/strain analysis in a pipeline subjected to differential frost heave was presented, in which the amount of frost heave is calculated using a segregation potential model and considering creep effects of the frozen soil. In addition, a computational method for the temperature field around a pipeline was proposed so that the frozen depth and temperature variation gradient could be obtained. Using the procedure proposed in this paper, stress/strain can be calculated according to the temperature on the surface of soil and in a pipeline. The result shows the characteristics of deformation and loading of a pipeline subjected to differential frost heave. In general, the methods and results in this paper can provide a reference for the design, construction and operation of pipelines in permafrost areas.


1982 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Nixon

The Konrad–Morgenstern theory of frost heave using the segregation potential concept is briefly outlined, and the method of predicting frost heave under field conditions is reviewed. A recent paper by Nixon et al. describes the operation and results from two circular frost heave test plates installed at the Foothills Pipe Lines test facility in Calgary. The frost heave theory using the segregation potential approach has been applied in its simplest form to predict the frost heave beneath these test plates and the agreement is found to be very good. Current geothermal modelling, coupled with the Konrad–Morgenstern theory of frost heave, appears to be capable of reasonable predictions of frost heave in fine-grained soils under practical engineering conditions.


1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. E. Carlson ◽  
J. F. (Derick) Nixon

Several frost heave mitigation modes were studied at the Calgary, Canada, chilled pipeline frost heave test facility. These included deeper burial (to increase the pressure on the frost front below the pipe) and replacement of the silty soil around the pipe with gravel for a noninsulated pipe. Frost heave at the deep-burial section and at the gravel section was less than the heave at a control section. Other pipe sections tested the effects of insulation of the pipe on the long-term frost heave, as well as the effects of replacing the silt around an insulated pipe with gravel. Summer thawing of the frost bulb around the insulated pipe results in seasonal thaw settlement of the pipe, thus reducing the long-term pipe heave, at least for the warmer ground temperature environment at the Calgary facility.Thermal simulations of the frost bulb growth and predictions of frost heave using the segregation potential model agree well with the observations.Recent excavation of two frost bulbs in silty soil led to field observations of the interior of the frost bulbs, and subsequent laboratory analysis of frost bulb samples. Ice distribution was logged and photographed following excavation of each frost bulb. Key words: frost heave, pipeline, silt, mitigation, instrumentation, field observations.


1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Konrad

The analysis of frost-heave data on several soils confirmed that segregation potential, hence frost susceptibility, of saturated soils was best related to the average size of the fines fraction, the specific surface area of the fines fraction, and the ratio of the material's water content to its liquid limit. The influence of overburden pressure can also be accounted for by an empirical relationship between the segregation potential, the average size of the fines fraction, and the compressibility index of the soil. The segregation potential was also proportional to the relative fines content in soils where the fines do not completely fill the voids of the coarser fraction. This study led to the development of a new frost-susceptibility assessment methodology based on simple geotechnical routine soil index testing that was validated on a highway site on frost-susceptible subgrade till.Key words: frost heave, index properties, criteria, soil, segregation potential.


1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Konrad

Laboratory freezing tests were performed on a saturated clayey silt at various pore-water salinities and applied pressures to establish the relationships between pore-water salinity, overburden, and the amount of moisture transfer during freezing near thermal steady state conditions. The experimental data confirmed that the concept of segregation potential established for salt-free soils can be extended to saline soils. The segregation potential at the onset of the final ice lens in step-freezing tests (or near thermal steady state) should be related to the average salinity of the frozen fringe associated with the final ice lens. This pore-water salinity is different from the initial pore-water salinity as a result of solute exclusion at the ice lenses causing an enrichment as freezing proceeds. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to determine the average salinity in the frozen fringe owing to its small size. Instead, it is proposed to use the initial water salinity to develop the constitutive equations in freezing saline soils. A procedure for frost heave predictions in the field is outlined. Key words: freezing tests, clayey silt, saline water, frost heave.


1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-M. Konrad

Frost heave in soils is analysed from a fundamental point of view to predict the development of periodic ice lens formation that is observed in frozen soils. A model of simultaneous heat and mass transfer associated with three new concepts is described and was found to exhibit many of the frost heave features observed in laboratory tests. An efficient frost heave parameter termed the segregation potential, SP, is also described and found to be an adequate input to a general formulation of heat and mass transfer for the prediction of frost heave in soils for both laboratory and field conditions. Representative values of SP depend on the stress and thermal histories of the soil deposit. The SP-based approach can be used for solving two-dimensional frost heave problems and yields stress, temperature, and ice-content distributions with time. Key words : frost heave, soils, segregation potential, simulation, thermodynamics.


1981 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Konrad ◽  
Norbert R. Morgenstern

In previous work it has been shown that when a soil sample freezes in a one-dimensional manner under different cold-side step temperatures but the same warm-side temperature, at the formation of the final ice lens the water intake flux is proportional to the temperature gradient across the frozen fringe. The constant of proportionality has been called the segregation potential and this linear relation constitutes the coupling between heat and mass flow in a general theory of frost heave. This paper shows experimentally that the segregation potential is also a function of the average suction in the frozen fringe which is readily expressed in terms of the suction at the frost front. As a result it is also shown that measured water intake flux during freezing is dependent on the freezing path used to initiate the final ice lens. A thermodynamic explanation of the dependence of segregation potential on suction in the frozen fringe is also offered.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Ji ◽  
Xueyan Xu ◽  
Linlin Yu

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