Numerical Solutions For A Rigid Ice Model Of Secondary Frost Heave

Frost heave is analyzed for the common case in which some ice penetrates the soil. In this situation, heave is due to the accumulation of soil-free ice just within the frozen zone, behind a frozen fringe of finite thickness. Heat and mass transport within and across that fringe are crucial processes in the dynamics of heave. This analysis concentrates on activity within the fringe, also connecting that activity to heat and mass flows in the more frozen and unfrozen zones. Each component in a set of governing differential equations is developed from rational physics and thermodynamics, using previous experimental work. It is assumed that the soil ice grows through interconnected interstices; hence it constitutes and can move as a rigid body. When the assumption is translated into mathematical terms, it completes the governing equations. The model resulting from these considerations is a one-dimensional finite element computer program that solves the equations for arbitrary initial and boundary conditions. The model is used to simulate the heave history of a hypothetical soil column frozen unidirectionally and subjected to a surcharge. The results are gratifying in that they predict qualitatively the characteristics of numerous laboratory observations. Some questions about the completeness of the theory remain, and strict verification of the model awaits further experimentation and better parameter identification.

Reflecting the current research and advances made in the application of numerical methods in geotechnical engineering, this volume details proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on 'Numerical Models in Geomechanics - NUMOG IX' held in Ottawa, Canada, 25-27 August 2004. Highlighting a number of new developments in the area, papers concentrate upon the following four main areas: * constitutive relations for geomaterials * numerical algorithms: formulation and performance * modelling of transient, coupled and dynamic problems * application of numerical techniques to practical problems. Representing the most advanced, modern findings in the field, Numerical Models in Geomechanics is a comprehensive and impeccably-researched text, ideal for students and researchers as well as practising engineers.

These proceedings contain two hundred and eighteen papers representing the work of authors from countries across the world. They cover a wide range of research and applications in safety and reliability issues that concern all types of systems, processes and structures.