A poromechanics approach to assess the effect of frost heave on double-barrel culverts in cold regions

Hongwei Liu, Pooneh Maghoul, Ahmed Shalaby, Amir Khatibi

In the proceedings of GeoSt. John's 2019: 72nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: Transportation Geotechnics

ABSTRACT: The serviceability of infrastructure such as buried utilities, pavement structures, and building foundations in cold regions can be adversely affected by seasonal frost actions in cold regions. Frost actions on road structures including culverts can be more complicated to assess and mitigate due to the existing double-cooling sources, i.e. pavement surface and subsurface culverts openings. Culverts are used as a waterway under a road and their structural integrity has an impact on the road roughness. Multi-physics analysis including heat transfer, mass transfer and mechanical analysis is required to explain thoroughly the formation of ice lenses in frost-susceptible soils. This paper aims to numerically study the distribution of temperature and pore-water pressure during the freezing process as well as the deformation in the soil due to frost heave by using a coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) model in the framework of the mechanics of porous media.

RÉSUMÉ: Le fonctionnement des infrastructures telles que les infrastructures enterrées, les structures de chaussée, et les fondations des bâtiments dans les régions froides peut être affecté négativement par les actions du gel. Toutefois, ces actions sur les structures de route incluant les ponceaux peuvent être plus compliquées à évaluer et à atténuer en raison des doubles sources de refroidissement existantes, c'est-à-dire des ouvertures de ponceaux souterrains et la surface de la chaussée. Les ponceaux sont utilisés comme une voie navigable sous une route et leur intégrité structurelle a un impact sur la rugosité de la route. Une analyse multi-physique comprenant le transfert de chaleur, le transfert de masse et analyse mécanique est nécessaire pour expliquer de manière approfondie la formation de lentilles de gel dans les sols sensibles au gel. Cet article vise à étudier numériquement la distribution de la température et de la pression interstitielle au cours du processus de gel ainsi que la déformation du sol due au soulèvement au gel en utilisant un modèle couplé Thermo-Hydro-Mécanique (THM) dans le cadre de la mécanique des milieux poreux.

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Cite this article:
Hongwei Liu; Pooneh Maghoul; Ahmed Shalaby; Amir Khatibi (2019) A poromechanics approach to assess the effect of frost heave on double-barrel culverts in cold regions in GEO2019. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{Geo2019Paper341,author = Hongwei Liu; Pooneh Maghoul; Ahmed Shalaby; Amir Khatibi,title = A poromechanics approach to assess the effect of frost heave on double-barrel culverts in cold regions ,year = 2019}