A simulation method of thermo-hydraulic coupling transfer in soil
freeze-thaw process based on the water physical phase change
Abstract
The freeze-thaw process influences moisture and heat transport, which is
of great importance for the runoff and groundwater infiltration
processes. At present, the research on the freeze-thaw process is mainly
conducted by means of field/laboratory experiments. The mechanism and
details of the fluid and heat flow characteristics are still poorly
understood. In this study, we developed the code to realize the
elaborate description of each thermo-hydraulic phenomenon during the
entire freeze-thaw process. Based on the framework of TOUGH2, we
improved the EOS3 module to realize the function of phase transition
between water and ice. The improved model can handle the system of
water/air two components in gas/liquid/solid three phases. Moreover, the
absolute and relative permeability change and thermal conductivity
correction induced by the occurrence of the ice phase are all
considered. The long-term field monitoring was conducted on two sites to
observe the entire freeze-thaw process in the Changbai Mountain area.
The monitoring data were used to verify the code and get a satisfactory
result. It is found that the freeze-thaw process could be briefly
divided into three stages, the gradually freezing stage, long-term
stable stage, and a prompt thaw stage. The proposed method provides a
solution for the in-depth investigation of the moisture and heat
migration, and groundwater dynamics in seasonally frozen areas.