Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210

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Cold Regions Science and Technology

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / c o l d r e g i o n s

Numerical study on cooling characteristics of two-phase closed thermosyphon

embankment in permafrost regions
Mingyi Zhang ⁎, Yuanming Lai, Jianming Zhang, Zhizhong Sun
State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou Gansu 730000, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) is an effective heat transfer device decreasing the ground
Received 29 April 2010 temperature around it in cold season, but not absorbing heat energy in warm season. In this paper, in order
Accepted 1 August 2010 to research the efficiency of the TPCT applied to the embankment in permafrost regions, a three-dimension
model for the TPCT embankment was presented based on the work characteristics of the TPCT and on the
Keywords:
related heat transfer theories. The numerical results showed that 1) the model can reasonably solve the
Cooling characteristic
Two-phase closed thermosyphon embankment
coupled heat transfer problem of air-TPCT-soil for TPCT embankment; 2) the TPCT embankment is effective
Permafrost region to protect the underlying permafrost and to ensure the stability of roadway in permafrost regions;
Numerical study furthermore, it could play rapidly a cooling effect and approach a thermal balance state after 5 years of
construction; and 3) the TPCT, if combined with other engineering methods such as insulation, crushed rock,
etc., can be an more effective engineering measure to ensure the stability of roadway engineering in warm
permafrost regions.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction wind speed. Xu et al. (2003) investigated the application of TPCTs to

A two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) is a highly efficient heat
transfer device, whose effective thermal conductivity exceeds that of
copper 200–500 times (Noie, 2005). Compared with other types of
heat pipes, the TPCT is structure-simple. Therefore, TPCTs are widely
being applied in many fields including heat exchangers, solar energy
conversion systems, spacecraft thermal control, etc. Besides these
applications, in the engineering construction of permafrost regions,
one way to prevent the foundation damage caused by frost heaving in
winter and thaw settlement in summer is to use the TPCT.
Previous researchers have been conducted toward understanding
the heat transfer characteristics of the TPCT and its applications in cold
regions engineering. Noie (2005) experimentally studied the effects of
the aspect- and filling-ratios on the heat transfer characteristics of a
TPCT under the normal operating conditions. Imura et al. (2005)
studied the start-up experiment from the frozen state of the TPCT by
using 1 and 2 mass% ethylene glycol aqueous solutions as the working
fluid. The study found that these TPCTs started up smoothly without
any troubles. Pan and Wu (2002) numerically studied the major
mechanism of controlling the soil freezing expansion by using the
TPCT. Wu et al. (1996) tested the laws of convection heat transfer
between TPCT and air in laboratory. The test's results showed that heat
transfer coefficient of TPCT was related to air temperature and outside
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: myzhang@lzb.ac.cn (M. Zhang).
the temperature control of large concrete structure. Long, et al.
(Edward Yannak and Long, 2002; Forsstrom et al., 2002) has done a lot
of research work about the application of TPCT in cold regions
engineering. The encouraged results from these previous researches
promote the use of the TPCT to cold region engineering. The TPCT has
been used in many engineering projects in permafrost regions (Yang et
al., 2005), and In China, this technology has widely been applied to
protect the underlying permafrost of the cold regions roadway
engineering—for example, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (Yang et al.,
2005; Li et al., 2003 and Wang, 2005) and Qinghai-Tibet Highway
(Yang et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2005) (shown in Fig. 1). The interval of
the TPCTs is from 2.0 to 4.0 m along the road direction in the road
engineering of cold regions in China. The field practices of the roadway
(Yang et al., 2005; Li et al., 2003; Wang, 2005 and Wang et al., 2005)
indicate that the themosyphon can effectively protect the permafrost
embankment by both cooling the underlying permafrost and increas-
ing the bearing capacity of roadbed.
More recently, theoretical and numerical studies on the special
embankment structure were carried out to predict and evaluate the
long-term thermal stability of the TPCT embankment in permafrost
regions. By simplifying the TPCT as a line with an approximate heat
flow, Liu et al. (2004) numerically analyzed the cooling effect of a TPCT
system used to protect the roadbed in permafrost region. Similarly,
based on the heat flow of TPCT from field observation, Yang et al.
(2006) studied the cooling effect of TPCTs with different inclination
angles on the embankment along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Com-
pared to Liu and Yang study, Wen et al. (2005) is more complicated. By

0165-232X/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2010.08.001
204 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210

a) Qinghai-Tibet Railway R2

R3

Lc
R1

La
R4

Le
R5
R6

b) Qinghai-Tibet Highway
Fig. 2. The physical configuration of TPCT.

configuration of a TPCT is illustrated in Fig. 2. The figure indicates that

the TPCT is divided into three sections: evaporator- section, adiabatic-
section and condenser-section. When the temperature on the
evaporator section is higher than that on the condenser section, the
working fluid in the evaporator section absorbs the external heat
energy and vaporizes through the adiabatic section to the condenser
section because of the vapor pressure. In the condenser section, the
vapor is condensed on the wall, releasing its latent heat of
vaporization and then, returns along the wall to the evaporator
section under gravity. However, when the temperature on the
evaporator section is equals to or is lower than that on condenser
section, the heat transfer process stops. Therefore, the heat energy of
the underlying soil is dissipated into the outside air when the external
is of lower temperature. But when this soil's temperature is lower
than the air temperature, the soil does not receive external heat from
TPCT. Thereby, installing the TPCT into the embankment in permafrost
regions can significantly cool down the underlying permafrost.
Fig. 1. The photos of TPCT embankment.

utilizing the same simplification of TPCT, Wen et al. (2005) analyzed 2.2. The computational model of the TPCT embankment
numerically the temperature characteristics of the embankment
protected by the combination of both insulation and TPCT. Based on the working principle of TPCT (Ma et al., 1983; Zhuang
In the above numerical studies, the TPCT was simplified as a line in and Zhang, 2000 and Pan and Wu, 2002) and on the theory of heat
the numerical model, and then the line is denoted with a time-variable conduction with phase change for soils (An et al., 1990 and Tao, 2004),
heat flow. In fact, the numerical models neglect some key factors
including the convective heat transfer problem between wind and TPCT,
the coupled heat transfer problem between TPCT and soils, the total heat
transfer coefficient of TPCT, etc. However, the coupled heat transfer
problem of air-TPCT-soil can greatly influence the heat transfer capacity
of TPCT. Therefore, the TPCT models in the aforementioned researches
need to be improved. In this study, a coupled heat transfer system of air-
TPCT-soil for the TPCT embankment was presented based on the heat
transfer principle of TPCT (Ma et al. 1983 and Zhuang and Zhang, 2000
and Pan and Wu, 2002). Subsequently, the thermal characteristics of the
TPCT embankment along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were analyzed by
using the numerical model.

2. Physical and mathematical model

2.1. The work mechanism of TPCT

This TPCT is a highly efficient device that carries the internal heat
out without the aid of the external power supply. The physical Fig. 3. The circuit diagram of TPCT's resistance.
 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210 205

a coupled heat transfer model of air-TPCT-soil for TPCT embankment Therefore, the total heat flux Q of TPCT is:
is in the following.
Τa −Τco Τ −Τci Τ −Τcl Τ −Τel
Q = = co = ci = cl ð8Þ
1) TPCT: R1 R2 R3 R4
The circuit diagram of TPCT's resistance is shown in Fig. 3. In Figs. 2
and 3, all kinds of resistances of TPCT can expressed as R1 to R6. Τel −Τei Τ −Τs Τ −Τs
= = ei = a
R5 R6 ∑Ri
a) For condenser section (R1 + R2 + R3):
R1 is the heat resistance between air and outer wall of TPCT
2) Soil layers
(finned), defined as
     
∂T ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T
1 Cs = λs + λs + λs ð9Þ
R1 = e ð1Þ ∂t ∂r ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂z
ha πdoc Lc


  where Cs and λs are effective volumetric heat capacity and

doc ðLc −nδÞ + 2n r22 −r12 + 2nr2 δ η effective thermal conductivity of soil, respectively. Using the
where hea = ha
Lc doc method of sensible heat capacity, it is assumed that the phase
  change occurs in a range of temperature Tm ± ΔT. Assuming that
λa 0:718 1=3 sn 0:296
ha = 0:1378 Rea Pra Csf, Csu, λsf and λsu do not depend on temperature T. Then, the
doc bn
following definitions of Cs and λs may be obtained:
Vdoc
Rea =
ν 8
> Csf T b ðTm −ΔT Þ
>
>
<
R2 is the heat resistance of TPCT wall, defined as ls Csf + Csu
Cs = + ðTm −ΔT Þ ≤ T ≤ ðTm + ΔT Þ ð10Þ
  >
> 2ΔT 2
>
:
1 d Csu T N ðTm + ΔT Þ
R2 = ln oc ð2Þ
2πλLc dic
8
> λsf T b ðTm −ΔT Þ
R3 is the heat resistance of the liquid film, defined as >
>
<
λsu −λsf
λs = λsf + ½T−ðTm −ΔT Þ ðTm −ΔT Þ ≤ T ≤ ðTm + ΔT Þ
1 >
> 2ΔT
R3 = ð3Þ >
:
πdic Lc hc λsu T N ðTm + ΔT Þ
!1=3
λ3f ρ2l gl ð11Þ
Where hc = 0:925
μqc Lc
where subscripts f and u represent the frozen and unfrozen states,
respectively; Csf and λsf are the volumetric heat capacity and
b) For adiabatic section (R4): thermal conductivity of media in the frozen area, respectively; Csu
R4 is the heat resistance of the vapor between condenser and λsu are the volumetric heat capacity and thermal conductivity
section and evaporator section. Its value can be taken as follows of media in the unfrozen area, respectively; and ls is latent heat
 per unit volume.
0 the thermosyphon is in working state
R4 ≈ ð4Þ The coupled heat transfer between the TPCT and the soil layers is
+ ∞ the thermosyphon is not in working state
described by the thermal balance, and is written as:

When the TPCT begins working, the heat resistance is neglected

Τa −Τs ∂Τ
because the temperature difference between the two sections = λs ð12Þ
πdοe Le ∑Ri ∂n
is almost vanishing; however, when the TPCT stop working, the
resistance is taken as infinite.
However, because the aforementioned model, described from
c) For evaporator section (R5 + R6): Eqs. (1)–(12), is heavily nonlinear, its analytical solution cannot be
R5 is the total heat resistance of the liquid film part and liquid obtained. Therefore, the governing equations must be solved
pool part, defined as numerically. The spatial and temporal discretization for the above
equations is carried out by using the control-volume integration
1
R5 = ð5Þ technique (Tao, 2004). The discrete equations are solved in an
πdie Le he iterative manner using the Successive Under-Relaxation Method (Tao,
!  2004). And the iteration sequence is processed until the maximum
ρl0:65 λ0:3 0:7 0:2 0:4
l cpl g qe psat 0:3
Where he = 0:32 normalized temperature change is less than 10-6 for every time
ρ0:25 l0:4 μl0:1 pa
v interval. Based on these methods, the 10 years temperature fields of
the TPCT embankment are analyzed in this study.
R6 is the heat resistance of TPCT wall, defined as
3. Numerical results and analyses
 
1 d
R6 = ln oc ð6Þ
2πλLe dic According to the Temporary Code for Engineering Construction of
Railway in Permafrost Region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (2003) and
From the above analysis, the total heat resistance of TPCT can the documented data (Yang et al., 2006 and Pan et al., 2003), the TPCT
been expressed as follows: embankment at an elevation of 4500 m in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
are used as computational model, shown in Fig. 4. In this study, the
embankment model is 4.0 m high; the computational domain is
∑Ri = R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 + R5 + R6 ð7Þ extended 30 m horizontally from the side slope toe (B and I) of the
206 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210

19.4m
7.4m
7.2m
3.4m V

3.0m 3.0m
.75
1:1 E I F
C D G H 30.0m
30.0m .5

4.0m
A B 1:1 II I J
3.0m

III

6.0m
K
N

30.0m
IV

M L
Fig. 4. The computational model of TPCT embankment.

embankment, and 30 m downward from the natural ground surface The temperatures at the side slopes BCD and GHI (Fig. 4):
(AB and IJ).
 
In the embankment model (shown in Fig. 4), Part I is railway 2π π
Ts = 0:7 + 13 sin t + + α0 ð15Þ
ballast; Part II is embankment fill, Part III is subclay, and Part IV is 8760 h 2
weathered mudstone. The thermal parameters of these parts are given
in Table 1. Part V is TPCT which is composed of the working liquid of The temperatures at the ballast surface DEFG (Fig. 4):
ammonia and the carbon-steel tube, and the interval of the TPCTs is
4.0 m. Some physical parameters of the TPCT are listed in Table 2.  
2π π
The present mean annual air temperature at the location of the Tp = 1:5 + 15 sin t + + α0 ð16Þ
8760 h 2
embankment is taken as -4.0 °C. Based on the adherent layer theory
(Zhu, 1988 and Zang and Wu, 1999) and the documented data (Pan et
where th is time; α0 is phase angle determined by the finishing time of
al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2003 and Lai et al., 2003), it can be found that the
embankment.
mean annual temperatures on natural ground surface, embankment
The geothermal heat flux at the bottom boundary LM is a constant
side slopes, and railway ballast surface are 2.5 °C, 4.7 °C and 5.5 °C
of 0.06 W/m2, and the lateral boundaries (JKL and ANM) are assumed
higher than the mean annual air temperature, respectively. Therefore,
to be adiabatic (Lai et al., 2003).
the thermal boundary conditions can be expressed as follows:
It is assumed that the TPCT begins working when the temperature of
The air temperature:
evaporator section is 0.5 °C higher than that of condenser section (Li et al.,
  2003).
2π π
Ta = −4:0 + 11:5 sin t + + α0 ð13Þ Based on the data for wind in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (Lai et al.,
8760 h 2 2009a) and on the “power law of wind profile” in atmospheric surface
layer (Zhao et al., 1991), the wind velocity outside the condenser
The temperatures at natural ground surfaces AB and IJ (Fig. 4): section of the TPCT is varied according to the following formula:

   
2π π 2π 3
Tn = −1:5 + 12 sin t + + α0 ð14Þ V = 3:64 + 1:10 sin t + π + α0 ð17Þ
8760 h 2 8760 h 2

Table 1
Physical parameters of media in embankment model.




Physical variable λsf ðW = m⋅BC Þ Csf J = m3 ⋅BC λsu ðW = m⋅BC Þ Csu J = m3 ⋅BC L J = m3

Railway ballast 0.346 1.006 × 106 0.346 1.006 × 106 0

Embankment fill 1.980 1.913 × 106 1.919 2.227 × 106 2.04 × 107
Subclay 1.551 1.879 × 106 1.325 2.357 × 106 6.03 × 107
Weathered mudstone 1.824 1.846 × 106 1.474 2.099 × 106 3.77 × 107

Table 2
Some parameters of TPCT.

Parameter Value Parameter Value Parameter Value

Length of condenser section, Le 3.0 m Inner diameter of pipe, di 0.073 m Fin height, bn 0.025 m
Length of adiabatic section, La 3.0 m Outer diameter of pipe, do 0.083 m Fin space, sn 0.01 m
Length of evaporator section, Lc 6.0 m thermal conductivity of pipe wall , λ 49.61 w/(m·°C) Fin thickness, δ 0.0015 m
 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210 207

0 the following figures are same. The figure shows that the calculated
data is in agreement with measured data. In detail, the outer wall
-2 temperature decreases rapidly at the beginning of October, but begins
Temperature/oC

to increase after the middle of January.

-4 Fig. 6 shows the air temperature, outer wall temperature and
temperature difference between condenser and evaporator of the
-6 Calculated
Measured(right) a) July 15
-8 Measured(left) 4

2
-10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Time/Month 0

Fig. 5. Calculated and measured outer-wall temperatures at the evaporator section of -2

y/m
TPCT after 1 year of the construction.

-4
It is assumed that the TPCT embankment is finished on July 15. In
-6
the computational model, the initial temperature field of Parts III and
IV on July 15 is obtained through a long-term transient solution with
-8
the upper boundary condition (Eq. (14)). At the same date, the initial
temperature of Parts I and II is determined by the temperature of
-10
natural ground surface. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
In order to check the reliability of the computational model and
x/m
method, based on Pan et al. (2003), the TPCT embankment located at
the Qingshui River of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is selected. Fig. 5 b) October 15
shows the comparison of calculated and measured outer-wall
4
temperatures at the evaporator section of TPCT at left and right
embankment shoulders after 1 year of the construction. In the figure,
2
the scale along time axis represents the middle of every month and
0
15
Temperature difference between condenser and evaporator
10 -2
y/m
Temperature/oC

5 Air -4
0
-6
-5
Outer wall of evaporator
-8
-10

-15 -10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
-20 x/m
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Time/Month
c) January 15
Fig. 6. Air temperature, outer wall temperature and the temperature difference 4
between condenser and evaporator of the TPCT changing with time.

50 0

0 -2
y/m
Heat flux/(W/m2)

-4
-50

-6
-100
-8
-150
-10
-200 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 x/m
Time/Month
Fig. 8. The temperature distributions of TPCT embankment after 1 years of the
Fig. 7. The heat flux changing with time at outer wall of evaporator of the TPCT. construction (unit:°C).
208 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210

TPCT after 10 years of the construction. From Figs. 5 and 6, it can be embankment is greatly lower than that under nature ground surface
found that the TPCT begin working at the beginning of October and and the maximum temperature difference is beyond 1.0 °C. The lower
stop working at the begining of April. The maximum temperature temperature under the embankment means that the two-phase TPCT
difference between condenser and evaporator is about 5.0 °C when embankment can significantly cool down the underlying permafrost
the TPCT works, but 10.0 °C when the TPCT stops working. and thus is of help for the stability of embankment.
Fig. 7 is the change of heat flux at outer wall of evaporator with
time in a year when the TPCT embankment is in a relatively stable
state. The stable state would be described in the following discussion.
Fig. 7 shows that the heat flux is almost zero from April to September a) July 15
when the TPCT stops working. However, the heat flux increases 4
rapidly after October and reaches approximately 180 W/m2 in
January, and then decreases with the rise of air temperature. 2
Generally speaking, the heat flux adds with the increase of negative
temperature difference between condenser and evaporator (shown in 0
Fig. 6).
Fig. 8a–c are the temperature distributions of the TPCT embank- -2

y/m
ment after 1 years of the construction. Fig. 8a shows that the ground
temperature under the embankment is higher than that under the -4
nature ground surface on July 15 after 1 year. However, Fig. 8b
illustrates that, On October 15, the isotherms are convex around the -6
tip of the TPCT and that the temperature around the TPCT is greater
cooled down. The ground temperature characteristics on this date -8
indicate that the TPCT has begun working. On this date, the
permafrost table (0 °C isotherm) is y = -1.68 m under the nature -10
ground surface, while that under the centerline of the embankment 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
y = -0.39. The different depthes of permafrost table indicate that the x/m
TPCT embankment can have a good cooling effect on the underlying
permafrost. Fig. 8c indicates that, on January 15, a very low- b) October 15
temperature zone forms around the TPCT and the lowest temperature 4
is below -8.0 °C. The temperature of this zone shows that the TPCT can
effectively cool the soil around it. However, the 0 °C isotherm still 2
exists in the embankment, but it is above the original nature surface
and thus has no bad influence on the stability of embankment. But the 0
existence of 0 °C isotherm indicates that the TPCT can not completely
remove the thermal effect of embankment fill in a relatively short -2
y/m

time.
Fig. 9a–c are the temperature distributions of TPCT embankment -4
after 5 years of the construction. Fig. 9a shows that, on July 15 after
5 year, the lowest temperature is -3.0 °C under the embankment and -6
1.0 °C lower than that under nature ground surface. Fig. 9b indicates
that, on October 15, a low-temperature zone of -2.0 °C forms under -8
the embankment and 1.0 °C lower than that after 1 year (Fig. 8b). In
Fig. 9b, the curved isotherms around the TPCT also indicate that the -10
TPCT has begun working on this date. The 0 °C isotherm is y = 0.61 m 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
in the centerline of the embankment, and is 1.00 m higher than that x/m
before 4 years (Fig. 8b)and 2.29 m higher than that under nature
ground surface (Fig. 9b). The elevation of permafrost table indicates
c) January 15
that the TPCT embankment can effectively cool down the underlying 4
permafrost. Fig. 9c illustrates that the highly efficient TPCT can largely
reduce the permafrost temperature around it in cold season. 2
Fig. 10a–c are the temperature distributions of the TPCT embank-
ment after 10 years of the construction. The temperature profiles in 0
Fig. 10 compared with those in Fig. 9 has no obvious change. Therefore,
it can be concluded that the temperature field of TPCT embankment -2
y/m

has tended to be stable after 5 years of construction without

considering the global warming. -4
Besides, from Figs. 8–10, we find that it is easier to form the
vertical ice layers around the TPCT because of the sharp horizontal -6
temperature gradient in winter. Perhaps, it is advantageous to reduce
the vertical frost deformation of embankment. -8
Fig. 11 shows the temperatures versus depth at the centerline of
the TPCT embankment and at the natural ground surface on October -10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
15 after 10 years of the construction. The figure illustrates that,
x/m
although the temperature at the bottom of embankment is higher
than the temperature at nature ground surface (the surface and the Fig. 9. The temperature distributions of TPCT embankment after 5 years of the
bottom is the same depth), the ground temperature under the construction (unit:°C).
 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210 209

6
3 Nature ground surface

Depth/m
-3
-6 Centerline of the embankment
-9 Nature ground surface
-12
-15
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
Temperature/oC

Fig. 11. The change of temperatures with depths in the centerline of TPCT embankment
and under nature ground surface on October 15 after 10 years of the construction.

of embankment in permafrost regions. Previous studies also show that

when combined with other engineering methods such as insulation
(Wen et al., 2005), crushed rock (Lai et al., 2009b), etc., the cooling
efficiency of the TPCT can be increased greatly. Therefore, it is
recommended to use TPCT in the construction of new engineering
and/or in the maintenance of the existing engineering in permafrost
regions.

4. Conclusions

By analyzing the heat transfer characteristics of the TPCT, as well as

the temperature distributions of the embankment, some conclusions
are drawn as follows:
1) The coupled air-TPCT-soil heat transfer model can reasonably
describe the heat transfer process of TPCT embankment;
2) The TPCT is a highly effective heat transfer device and can reduce
the ground temperature around it in cold season. Furthermore, it
hardly transfers heat energy in warm season;
3) The TPCT embankment can effectively protect the underlying
permafrost and ensure the stability of embankment in permafrost
regions. Furthermore, it could play rapidly a cooling effect on the
underlying soil layers and its temperature fields tend to be stable
after 5 years of construction.
4) It is recommended to use the TPCT in the construction of new
engineering and/or in the maintenance of the existing engineering
in permafrost regions. Besides, the TPCT, if combined with other
engineering methods, e.g. insulation, crushed rock, etc., will be an
more effective engineering measure to ensure the stability of
engineering in warm permafrost regions.

Nomenclature
C effective volumetric heat capacity
c specific heat
d diameter
g gravitational acceleration
h heat transfer coefficient
l latent heat
λ thermal conductivity
L length
Fig. 10. The temperature distributions of TPCT embankment after 10 years of the p pressure
construction (unit:°C).
q heat flux
bn fin height
Because the TPCTs are operation-simply stalled beside the track, sn fin space
not affecting the traffic flow, their spacing should be reduced to δ fin thickness
increase their cooling effects under global warming (Qin, 2002). η heat exchange efficiency
Furthermore, because of this simple operation, the TPCT is usually Pr Prandtl number
combined with the other permafrost protected techniques to r radius
counteract the influence of global warming on the thermal stability R heat resistance
210 M. Zhang et al. / Cold Regions Science and Technology 65 (2011) 203–210

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This research was supported by the Talent Foundation of the Cold Wang, S.J., Huang, X.M., Chen, J.B., et al., 2005. Research on frozen soil subgrade cooling
by non-power heat pipe. Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and
and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Development 22 (3), 1–4.
Chinese Academy of Sciences (For PhD Mingyi Zhang), the Fund of the Wen, Z., Sheng, Y., Ma, W., et al., 2005. Analysis on effect of permafrost protection by
State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering (Grant No. SKLFSE- two-phase closed thermosyphon and insulation jointly in permafrost regions. Cold
Regions Science and Technology 43 (3), 150–163.
ZY-03), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.
Wu, Q.B., Liang, S.Y., Gao, X.W., 1996. Research of convection heat transfer between
40601023, 40730736), and the Grant of the Western Project Program thermalpile and air. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology 18 (1), 37–42.
of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-XB2-10). Xu, J.F., Hong, R.H., Sun, Z.J., et al., 2003. Research on the application of thermosyphon in
temperature control of large concrete structures. Journal of Zhejiang University
(Engineering Science) 37 (5), 591–595.
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