Case studies: Frozen ground design and construction in Kotzebue, Alaska

Alaska has many construction design challenges due to permafrost. Due to either climate changes or human activities and development, permafrost often becomes unstable. Unstable soils can cause thaw settlement, frost jacking, or heaving. These can cause damage to infrastructure, increase maintenance costs, and decrease the life of construction projects. Kotzebue, Alaska, a remote village in the northwest arctic part of Alaska, is ideal for observing such permafrost effects on infrastructure. Three case studies of Kotzebue construction projects are reviewed here： the Front Loop Water Main Extension, which shows the importance of both passive and active freeze thaw protection for water service pipes and how to minimize differential movement between pipes and buildings; the Wastewater Lift Station Replacement, which describes methods for reducing thaw settlement in buildings over time when it is not feasible to prevent thaw settlement, and compares the benefits of frozen ground excavation over traditional excavation practices; and the Ted Stevens Way Rehabilitation, which discusses the effectiveness of 2001 best design practices for gravel road construction over tundra and permafrost, identifies their design and construction failures, and proposes future solutions.     

Problems and countermeasures in construction of transmission line projects in permafrost regions

Construction of power transmission lines is becoming an important part of permafrost engineering in China.This paper reviews the construction status and problems of transmission lines in different countries,as well as corresponding solutions that would be of practical significance for sustainable engineering practices.Russia has the longest history of transmission line construction in permafrost areas,with transmission lines（mainly 220 kV and 500 kV） spanning approximately 100,000 km.However,all countries suffer from permafrost-related tower foundation stability problems caused by freezing-thawing hazards such as frost heave and thaw settlement,frost lifting,and harmful cryogenic phenomena.As point-line transmission line constructions,the lines,poles and towers should be reasonably selected and installed with a comprehensive consideration of frozen soil characteristics to effectively reduce the occurrence of freezing-thawing disasters.Reinforced concrete pile foundations are widely used in the permafrost regions,and construction in winter is also a universal practice.Moreover,facilitating engineering measures like thermosyphons are an effective way to reduce freezing-thawing hazards and to maintain the stability of tower foundations.     

Laboratory study and predictive modeling for thaw subsidence in deep permafrost

Oil wells on the North Slope of Alaska pass through deep deposits of permafrost. The heat transferred during their operation causes localized thawing, resulting in ground subsidence adjacent to the well casings. This subsidence has a damaging effect, causing the casings to compress, deform, and potentially fail. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study of the thaw consolidation strain of deep permafrost and its predictive modeling. Tests were performed to determine strains due to thaw and post-thaw loading, as well as soil index properties. Results, together with data from an earlier testing program, were used to produce empirical models for predicting strains and ground subsidence. Four distinct strain cases were analyzed with three models by multiple regression analyses, and the best-fitting model was selected for each case. Models were further compared in a ground subsidence prediction using a shared subsurface profile. Laboratory results indicate that strains due to thaw and post-thaw testing in deep core permafrost are insensitive to depth and are more strongly influenced by stress redistributions and the presence of ice lenses and inclusions. Modeling results show that the most statistically valid and useful models were those constructed using moisture content, porosity, and degree of saturation. The applicability of these models was validated by comparison with results from Finite Element modeling.     

Shear properties of thawed natural permafrost by bender elements

Thawed permafrost could cause a serious stability problem for foundations and oil-wells in cold regions. A non-damage testing procedure, employing the Bender Element Method, was used for permafrost samples collected from a continuous frozen core obtained from the North Slope of Alaska, USA. The wave velocity and modulus of thawed permafrost were investigated on various isotropic confining pressure from 0 kPa to 400 kPa per 100 kPa. The received shear wave propagation was recorded, and the elastic wave theory was used to calculate shear modulus. Finally, the shear modulus affected by confining pressure, water content and dry density were analyzed and discussed, and a regression formulation of shear modulus based on the Janbu Model for thawed silty and sandy permafrost were proposed and validation.     

Thermal state of ice-rich soils on the Tommot-Yakutsk Railroad right-of-way

This paper summarizes the results of investigations carried out in the northern section of the Tommot-Yakutsk Railroad in eastern Siberia, underlain by ice-rich permafrost. The ongoing permafrost and geotechnical research program in support of railroad construction includes assessment of the ground thermal state on the right-of-way and adjacent areas based on long-term field observations using the method of terrain thermal physics. These studies focus on the upper permafrost within the depth of annual temperature variation. In undisturbed areas, inter-annual variability of the ground thermal state shows little response to recent climatic variations. However, forest clearing and surface disturbance during right-of-way construction cause an increase in permafrost temperature, deepening of the active layer, thaw settlement, and water accumulation along the embankment. The active layer is thickest along the sun-exposed left berm and is thinnest along the more shaded right berm. Measures to prevent thaw-related embankment problems are recommended.     

THE N-FACTOR AS A TOOL IN GEOCRYOLOGICAL MAPPING: SEASONAL THAW IN THE KUPARUK RIVER BASIN,ALASKA

Although maps of active-layer thickness have useful roles in geocryology, polar ecology, and hydrology, a lack of geographically distributed data at appropriate scales has prevented their widespread implementation. The n-factor (ratio of temperature at the soil surface to that in the air) has considerable potential as a tool for mapping active-layer thickness and other geocryological parameters by providing refinements to relatively simple analytic solutions for the depth of thaw. Although temperature data from the soil surface under representative land-cover units have rarely been collected historically, recent advancements in data-logger technology allow the variability of soil-surface temperature regimes to be assessed inexpensively over small temporal and spatial intervals. Temperature data collected in the air at 2 m height and at the soil surface within 10 representative land-cover units in the Kuparuk River region of north-central Alaska were used to compute seasonal n-factor values for specific vegetation-soil associations. The resulting values were used with degree-day sums, a digital elevation model, and a digital map of vegetation to compute a modified Stefan estimate of thaw depth over a 26,278 km² area. Comparisons between maps based on the n-factor and an empirical, data-intensive method show similar performance. Given sufficient ancillary data, the n-factor provides a useful tool for mapping active-layer thickness over large areas without intensive in situ data collection. [Key words: Alaska, permafrost, active-layer thickness, frozen ground, mapping, temperature.]     

Geocryological characteristics of the upper permafrost in a tundra-forest transition of the Indigirka River Valley,Russia

Understanding geocryological characteristics of frozen sediment, such as cryostratigraphy, ice content, and stable isotope ratio of ground ice, is essential to predicting consequences of projected permafrost thaw in response to global warming. These characteristics determine thermokarst extent and controls hydrological regime—and hence vegetation growth—especially in areas of high latitude; it also yields knowledge about the history of changes in the hydrological regime. To obtain these fundamental data, we sampled and analyzed unfrozen and frozen surficial sediments from 18 boreholes down to 1–2.3 m depth at five sites near Chokurdakh, Russia. Profiles of volumetric ice content in upper permafrost excluding wedge ice volume showed large variation, ranging from 40 to 96%, with an average of 75%. This large amount of ground ice was in the form of ice lenses or veins forming well-developed cryostructures, mainly due to freezing of frost-susceptible sediment under water-saturated condition. Our analysis of geocryological characteristics in frozen ground including ice content, cryostratigraphy, soil mechanical characteristics, organic matter content and components, and water stable isotope ratio provided information to reconstruct terrestrial paleo-environments and to estimate the influence of recent maximum thaw depth, microtopography, and flooding upon permafrost development in permafrost regions of NE Russia.     

Application of p-y approach in analyzing pile foundations in frozen ground overlying liquefiable soils

Two major earthquakes in Alaska, namely the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and the 2002 Denali Earthquake, occurred in winter seasons when the ground crust was frozen. None of the then-existing foundation types was able to withstand the force from the lateral spreading of frozen crust. This paper presents results from the analysis of pile foundations in frozen ground overlying liquefiable soil utilizing the Beam-on-Nonlinear-Winkler-Foundation (BNWF) (or p-y approach). P-multipliers were applied on traditional sandy soil p-y curves to simulate soil strength degradation during liquefaction. Frozen soil p-y curves were constructed based on a model proposed in a recent study and the frozen soil mechanical properties obtained from testing of naturally frozen soils. Pile response results from the p-y approach were presented along with those from fluid-solid coupled Finite Element (FE) modeling for comparison purpose. Finally, the sensitivity of pile response to frozen soil parameters was investigated and a brief discussion is presented.     

Laboratory test on the combined cooling effect of L-shaped thermosyphons and thermal insulation on high-grade roadway construction in permafrost regions

With the completion of the Qinghai-Tibetan Railway,economic development of related areas has been greatly accelerated.This,in return,calls for building or upgrading more roadways,especially high-grade roadways.In cold regions,the thawing of permafrost can induce settlement damage of and even failure to railway (or roadway) embankments.Thermosyphons (self-powered refrigera-tion devices that are used to help keep the permafrost cool) have proved effective in mitigating thaw settlement by maintaining the thermal stability of the embankments.However,for high-grade roadway embankments of great width,stabilizing or cooling ef-fects of traditional geotechnological measures may be limited.To enhance the cooling effect of thermosyphons,an L-shaped thermosyphon was designed.A laboratory test was carried out to study the combined cooling effect of the L-shaped thermosyphon and thermal insulation applying to roadbed construction.The angle between the evaporator and condenser sections of the L-shaped thermosyphon is 134 degrees,and the L-shaped thermosyphon was inserted into the soil at an angle of 5 degrees with the road surface.The tested results show that the L-shaped thermosyphon is effective in removing heat from a roadway in winter.When the ambient air temperature is lower than the soil temperature,the thermosyphon is active and extracts the heat in the soil around it.When the ambient air temperature is higher than the soil temperature,the thermosyphon is inactive,and no heat is in-jected into the soil through the L-shaped thermosyphon.Compared to embankments with straight thermosyphons,the inner parts of the embankments with L-shaped thermosyphons were significantly cooled.It is hoped that the present study would be useful to the application of L-shaped thermosyphons in the construction of high-grade roadways in cold regions.     

A nonlinear interface structural damage model between ice crystal and frozen clay soil

The shear properties of ice-frozen soil interface are important when studying the constitutive model of frozen soil and slope stability in cold regions. In this research, a series of cryogenic direct shear tests for ice-frozen clay soil interface were conducted. Based on experimental results, a nonlinear interface structural damage model is proposed to describe the shear properties of ice-frozen clay soil interface. Firstly, the cementation and friction structural properties of frozen soil materials were analyzed, and a structural parameter of the ice-frozen clay soil interface is proposed based on the cryogenic direct shear test results. Secondly, a structural coefficient ratio is proposed to describe the structural development degree of ice-frozen clay soil interface under load, which is able to normalize the shear stress of ice-frozen clay soil interface,and the normalized data can be described by the Duncan-Chang model. Finally, the tangent stiffness of ice-frozen clay soil interface is calculated, which can be applied to the mechanics analysis of frozen soil. Also, the shear stress of ice-frozen clay soil interface calculated by the proposed model is compared with test results.     

Dynamic response of wind turbine towers in warm permafrost

Wind is a great source of renewable energy in western Alaska.Consistent winds blow across the barren tundra underlain by warm permafrost in the winter season,when the energy demand is the highest.Foundation engineering in warm permafrost has always been a challenge in wind energy development.Degrading warm permafrost poses engineering issues to design,construction,and operation of wind turbines.This paper describes the foundation design of a wind turbine built in western Alaska.It presents a system for response monitoring and load assessment,and data collected from September 2013 to March 2014.The dynamic properties are assessed based on the monitoring data,and seasonal changes in the dynamic properties of the turbine tower-foundation system and likely resonance between the spinning blades and the tower structure are discussed.These analyses of a wind turbine in warm permafrost are valuable for designing or retrofitting of foundations in warm permafrost.     

Highway Roadway Stability Influenced by Warm Permafrost and Seasonal Frost Action: A Case Study from Glennallen, Alaska, USA

Ground temperatures from four of the seven extensively studied highway cross-sections near Gulkana/Glennallen,Alaska during 1954~1962,were chosen to better understand the impacts of highway construction on warm permafrost.Both the thawing of permafrost and seasonal frost action impacted on road surface stability for about 6 years until the maximum summer thaw reached about 3 m in depth.Seasonal frost action caused most of the ensuing stability problems.Unusually warm summers and the lengths of time required to re-freeze the active layer were far more important than the average annual air temperatures in determining the temperatures of the underlying shallow permafrost,or the development of taliks.The hypothesized climate warming would slightly and gradually deepen the active layer and the developed under-lying talik,but its effect would be obscured by unusually warm summers,by warmer than usual winters,and by the vari-able lengths of time of the zero curtains.At least one period of climate mini-cooling in the deeper permafrost during the early 20th century was noted.     

Use of geosynthetics for performance enhancement of earth structures in cold regions

Earth structures, such as roadways, embankments and slopes, and earth retaining walls, have been commonly used in cold regions for transportation and other applications. In addition to typical design c...     

Permafrost and geotechnical investigations in Nalaikh Depression of Mongolia

Mongolia is a land-locked country in Central Asia, located between Russia and China. The country's high altitude results in cold, dry, and harsh climatic conditions with permafrost being widespread through the territory. Although the capital city Ulaanbaatar is situated in an area with discontinuous permafrost, the downtown section has recently seen a disappearance of permafrost due to an underground central heating system. During the last decade, expansion of the suburbs toward the Nalaikh Depression has resulted in construction of a new residential complex (Urgakh Naran), construction materials trading center, cement factory and agricultural products market. In the next 10 years, projects such as a university campus, logistics center, residential complex, railway and highway extensions connecting Russia and China have been planned. Engineering-geological and geotechnical investigations have been conducted for these construction projects. This paper presents some of the results determining the engineering geocryological conditions of Nalaikh district and offers foundation design options.     

THERMALLY DRIVEN SORPTION,DESORPTION, AND MOISTURE MIGRATION IN THE ACTIVE LAYER IN CENTRAL ALASKA

Combined observations of hourly soil temperature and electric potential, the latter converted to a relative index of soil-water solute concentration, yield information on the physical chemistry of near-surface frost effects. Solute concentration near the descending 0° C isotherm in the refreezing active layer above permafrost is divided into three distinct zones: (1) an ion-enriched zone in the unfrozen active layer that precedes the penetrating freezing front; (2) an ion-purified desorbed zone at the freezing front that is the source region of the downward-expelled ions and water; and (3) a hydrologically isolated subfreezing zone of enhanced solute concentration located above the freezing isotherm. High-frequency fluctuations superimposed on these general patterns are traceable to vapor migration driven by surface thermal fluctuations. These effects diminish at temperatures below about -0.4° C, as permeability decreases with soil-ice formation. The combined temperature-solute concentration time series is used to develop sorption curves for the frozen organic and mineral soils, and indicates that approximately half of the pore water present in the mineral soil at -0.4° C had not been converted to ice at -6° C. Gradual soil desiccation over winter appears to result from outward vapor diffusion, possibly through soil cracks. [Key words: Alaska, active layer, frozen ground, soil temperature, soil water, permafrost.]     

SPECTRAL SIGNATURE OF COUPLED FLOW IN THE REFREEZING ACTIVE LAYER,NORTHERN ALASKA

Soil temperature records obtained from the active layer above permafrost at a site in northern Alaska during autumn and winter have variance spectra inconsistent with a purely conductive heat-transfer system. Although conductive heat-transfer theory predicts that temperature fluctuations are attenuated with depth, sub-diurnal thermal variance at the 50-cm level, near the base of the active layer, exceeded that at the 10-cm level. Short segments of the temperature record were drawn from three distinct periods of soil-frost conditions: (1) at the maximum vertical development of the active layer in early autumn; (2) during frost penetration and the formation of a zero curtain in early winter; and (3) after freezeback of the active layer. The variance spectra of these time series show systematic seasonal transitions that reflect changing mechanisms of heat transfer. During the first and second periods, heat transfer by internal evaporation and condensation dominates at wavelengths in the diurnal range. The spectral traces are not strongly self-similar and the fractal dimensions indicate extreme space-filling, especially at deeper levels. Once the active layer is frozen, conductive heat transfer dominates, producing a trend toward self-similarity. Both the thermal variance and the fractal dimension decrease with depth in the frozen regime. [Key words: Alaska, active layer, coupled flow, fractal dimension, frozen ground, heat transfer, permafrost, soil freezing, spectral analysis, zero curtain.]     

Centrifuge model test on performance of thermosyphon cooled sandbags stabilizing warm oil pipeline buried in permafrost

The thaw settlement of pipeline foundation soils in response to the operation of the first China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline along the eastern flank of the northern Da Xing'anling Mountains in Northeast China was simulated in a physical model test(with a similitude ratio of 1/73) in a geotechnical centrifuge. Two pipes of a supported and an unsupported section were evaluated over a testing period for simulating 20 years of actual pipeline operation with seasonal cyclically changing oil and ambient temperatures. The results show that pipe settlement of the supported pipe was 45% of settlement of the unsupported pipe. Settlement for the unsupported section was approximately 35% of the thaw bulb depth below the initial pipe elevation, only 30% of that for the supported pipe due to the influence of the supports. The final thaw bulbs extended approximately 3.6 and 1.6 times of the pipe diameter below the unsupported and supported pipe bottom elevations, respectively. The sandbag supports kept frozen during the test period because of cooling effect of the thermosyphons. The maximum bending stress induced over the 20 m span length from bearing of the full cover over the pipe would be equivalent to40% specified minimum yield strength(SMYS). Potential buckling of the pipe should be considered as the ground thaws.This study also offers important data for calibration and validation of numerical simulation models.     

New soil thermal stabilization systems for building fundaments in permafrost regions

This paper describes new building construction methods that utilize soil thermal stabilization regimes to compensate for negative environmental warming and anthropogenic factors that impair fundament stability. Based on long-standing research, the Fundamentstroyarkos Company (FSA) of Tyumen, Russia has developed four primary seasonally active cooling devices (SCDs) that maintain soil in the frozen state, which are now extensively used on oil and gas facilities located in cold regions of Russia. This paper reports on the testing and validation of these SCDs in experimental conditions. On this basis, designs and technologies for building bases and foundations on permafrost with use of soil thermal stabilization systems, using carbon dioxide as the heat-transfer agent, were developed.     

Modeled response of talik development under thermokarst lakes to permafrost thickness on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Permafrost thickness under identical climates in cold regions can vary significantly because it is severely affected by climate change, topography, soil physical and thermal properties, and geothermal conditions. This study numerically in- vestigates the response of ground thermal regime and talik development processes to permafrost with different thicknesses under a thermokarst lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. On the basis of observed data and information from a representative monitored lake in the Beiluhe Basin, we used a heat transfer model with phase change under a cylindrical coordinate system to conduct three simulation cases with permafrost thicknesses of 45 m, 60 m, and 75 m, respectively. The simulated results indicate that increases in permafrost thickness not only strongly retarded the open talik formation time, but also delayed the permafrost lateral thaw process after the formation of open talik. Increasing the permafrost thickness by 33.3% and 66.7% led to open talik formation time increases of 83.66% and 207.43%, respectively, and resulted in increases in the lateral thaw duration of permafrost under the modeled thermokarst lake by 28.86% and 46.54%, respectively, after the formation of the open taliks.     

Historical Overview of Permafrost Studies in China

Although soil freeze/thaw phenomena were reported centuries ago in the historical Chinese literature, systematic study of permafrost in China started in the 1950s. Permafrost research in China has been related to the exploration for and economic development of natural resources. Intensive investigations for several decades culminated in 2000 in the publication of a detailed map of geocryological regionalization and classification. From this map, it is estimated that permafrost covers approximately 23% of the country. About 80% of China's permafrost is mountain permafrost. China contains about 74.5% of the mountain permafrost area of the northern hemisphere. Since the early 1960s, researchers in China have conducted numerous field campaigns to determine permafrost and ground-ice distribution. A comprehensive ground-based and long-term monitoring network has been established on the Tibetan Plateau and in northeastern China. The State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering (SKLFSE) was established in 1991 and is open to national and international engineers and scientists to conduct related studies and experiments. Numerous field and laboratory experiments, as well as numerical modeling, have been conducted to meet the requirements for industrial design, construction, and operation in permafrost regions. Rescuing, archiving, and distributing historical permafrost data would greatly aid the ability of scientists to assess long-term changes in permafrost and its potential influence on the natural and engineered environment. Chinese geocryologists and engineers are facing new challenges with the construction and future operation of the Qinghai-Xizang railroad that will cross 550 km of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau.