The Mobility of Water in Frozen Soils.
Abstract
New relations for the flow of water in partially frozen soils are now being incorporated into frost heave models. The thermodynamic equilibrium equations for freezing soil water are well established but the partition of the soil system stresses within freezing zones is poorly understood. It has been demonstrated that the hydraulic conductivity of water in frozen soils is small but non-zero. Over time spans of several years, which are appropriate for new large scale engineering projects in cold climates, water flow in frozen soils will be significant. The experimental work has shown that Darcy's law is valid for film water flow in ice-free frozen soils and is a reasonable approximation for frozen soil with ice if the ice pressure gradient is negligible. The capability of deriving the freezing-zone moisture characteristics for a frost-susceptible soil, demonstrated here, is important in the theoretical prediction of the amount of segregated ice in a freezing soil.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 18, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA117321
Entities
People
- Richard Berg
- Richard Mcgaw
- Thomas Jenkins
- Virgil J. Lunardini
- Yoshisuke Nakano
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory