Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

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Computers and Geotechnics

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Research Paper

Analytical solution for classical one-dimensional thaw consolidation model T

considering unfrozen water effect and time-varying load
⁎
Yang Zhoua,b,c, , Li-ying Zhanga, Cheng Xua, Tao Wanga,b, Guo-qing Zhoua
a
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China
b
School of Mechanics & Civil Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China
c
JiangSu Collaborative Innovation Center for Building Energy Saving and Construct Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: A one-dimensional thawing process of frozen soil under a uniform initial temperature and a step increase of
Thaw consolidation boundary temperature is investigated. The classical thaw consolidation model developed by Morgenstern and
Time-varying load Nixon is extended by including unfrozen water in frozen soil and time-varying loads under two types of drainage
Unfrozen water boundaries. It is proven that the thawing front advances in proportion to the square root of time even with the
Analytical solution
unfrozen water effect included. It is also indicated that a certain form of superposition principle is applicable to
Numerical solution
the consolidation process even with the presence of a moving interface. An analytical solution for the external
load in the form of a power function is developed using the similarity transformation technique, and this solution
can be applied to construct the analytical solution for an arbitrary external load using the superposition prin-
ciple. A numerical solution for the problem is also developed. Computational examples are presented. First, the
correctness of the analytical solution and the numerical solution is verified. Second, thaw consolidation pro-
cesses under an instant load and a corresponding exponential load are compared and discussed. Third, the effects
of unfrozen water and drainage types on the thaw consolidation behavior are investigated.

1. Introduction
In cold regions, many engineering projects have been developed in
recent decades. Taking China for example, the Qinghai-Tibet railway,
Qinghai-Tibet highway, and many other facilities were constructed in
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in recent years [1,2]. For projects in cold
regions, the engineering stability will inevitably be affected by the
thawing process of frozen soil, which may cause the failure of en-
gineering infrastructures owing to soil settlement and excessive pore
water pressure in the thawed zone. Under the trend of global warming,
engineering and environmental problems caused by the thawing pro-
cess of frozen soil have become more serious.
Several scientists have investigated the thawing process of frozen
soil and developed mathematical models to describe the process.
Morgenstern & Nixon [3] established a one-dimensional thaw con-
solidation model in which the Neumann solution for heat conduction
with phase change is used to describe the movement of thawing front,
and the classical Terzaghi consolidation theory is applied to describe
the consolidation process in the thawed zone. They also compared the
results of a model with experimental data, indicating that the model
performed well in situations when the ice content was low but per-
formed badly in situations when the ice content was high [4,5]. For
situations when the ice content was high, the Terzaghi consolidation
theory, that is, in the frame of small deformation cannot be used to
describe large deformations that occur during the thawing process.
Considering this, Foriero & Ladanyi [6] developed a one-dimensional
thaw consolidation theory based on Gibson’s large deformation con-
solidation theory [7], and they considered the movement of the
thawing front as a power function of time. Three-dimensional thawing
processes of frozen soil are commonly encountered in engineering.
Thus, Yao et al. [8,9] developed a three-dimensional large deformation
thaw consolidation model and validated it via experiments. In this
model, the position of the thawing front is determined through nu-
merical computation of the heat transfer process. Qi et al. [10], Wang
et al. [11], and Wang et al. [12] improved this three-dimensional model
and applied it to calculate the thawing process of frozen soil for en-
gineering projects in cold regions. In the model of Yao et al. [8,9], the
effect of water movement on the heat transfer process was neglected,
and small deformation coordinates were adopted in the heat transfer
equation. Taking these into account, Dumais & Konrad [13] developed

⁎
Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu
221116, China.
E-mail address: tod2006@126.com (Y. Zhou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compgeo.2020.103513
Received 11 November 2019; Received in revised form 28 January 2020; Accepted 26 February 2020
Available online 02 March 2020
0266-352X/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Zhou, et al.
a new one-dimensional large deformation thaw consolidation model;
this model integrates heat transfer caused by heat conduction, phase
change, and advection. All equations were established in Lagrangian
coordinates.
The one-dimensional thaw consolidation model developed by
Morgenstern & Nixon [3] is a classical model. It is worth investigating,
although the application of the model may be restricted to frozen soil
with low ice content. For this classical model (hereafter denoted as the
MN model), improvements can be made from two aspects. First, the
movement of the thawing front in the MN model is obtained using the
Neumann solution [14]; however, the Neumann solution was developed
for materials with a fixed phase transition temperature and it is not
suitable for describing the temperature field during the thawing process
of frozen soil since the phase change of ice in frozen soil occurs in a
temperature range. Second, the external load in the model is considered
an instant load; however, time-varying loads also appear in different
engineering backgrounds and have been investigated by many re-
searchers. For example, Qin et al. [15] indicated that it is more ap-
propriate to assume an exponential type of load in practical en-
gineering. The cyclic load frequently encountered in transportation
engineering is also a typical type of time-varying load [16].
In this paper, a one-dimensional thawing process of frozen soil
under a uniform initial temperature and a step increase of boundary
temperature is investigated. The classical MN model is extended by
including the effect of unfrozen water in frozen soil and time-varying
loads under two types of drainage boundaries. An analytical solution
and a numerical solution for the extended model are established.
Computational examples of the analytical solution are presented and
discussed.
2. Governing equations
Fig. 1 shows a schematic for the one-dimensional thawing process of
frozen soil. The frozen soil layer is quite thick, and the temperature near
the bottom is not affected by the surface temperature. Thus, the frozen
soil layer can be treated as a semi-infinite body. The initial temperature
of the frozen soil is uniformly Tini, which is lower than the soil freezing
point Tf. At time t = 0, a step temperature increase is initiated for the
boundary of x = 0, and the boundary temperature is raised to Tw,
which is higher than Tf. After the thawing process initiates, the thawing
front S(t) will move downward gradually. Although the unfrozen water
effect in frozen soil is included, the consolidation in the frozen region is
usually weak and can be neglected. Therefore, consolidation only oc-
curs in the thawed region 0 < x < S (t ) , and the external load applied on
the boundary of x = 0 is considered a time-varying load Pext(t).
2.1. Governing equations for heat transfer
In the MN model, the position of the thawing front is obtained from
the Neumann solution. However, the Neumann solution considers the
Fig. 1. One-dimensional thawing process of thick frozen soil layer.
2
Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513
phase change process for materials with a fixed phase transition tem-
perature and it is not suitable for the thawing process of frozen soil
since the phase change of ice in frozen soil occurs in a temperature
range.
The continuous phase change of ice in frozen soil can be described
by the phase composition curve, which is normally expressed as the
relation between the unfrozen water content and the temperature. The
following equation is usually adopted to describe this relation [17,18]:
ρd
θu = exp(0.2618 + 0.5519lnSa − 1.4495Sa−0.2640 ln |T|)
100ρw (1)
in which θu is the volumetric unfrozen water content, ρd is the dry
density of soil, ρw is the water density, Sa is the specific surface of soil,
and T is the temperature.
Basic assumptions for heat transfer are the same as in the MN
model. Advection caused by water movement during the thaw con-
solidation process is neglected; thaw settlement is a small deformation
process, so its effect on the heat transfer equation is also negligible. In
this way, the heat transfer process presented in Fig. 1 can be described
by heat conduction with a phase change of soil ice. The deformation
caused by consolidation in the thawed region is the main focus, and
thus the deformation induced by the phase change of ice to water is not
considered. The frozen soil is assumed to be in a saturated state
throughout the thawing process. In the initial state (Tini), the porosity of
frozen soil is n̄ , and the unfrozen water content is θr (calculated from
Eq. (1)). After the ice is completely melted, the liquid water content will
be θ0 = θr + ρi (n¯ − θr )/ ρw with ρi the density of ice.
For the thawing process shown in Fig. 1, the governing equations for
heat transfer can then be written as [19]
∂T ∂ ⎛ ∂T ⎞ ∂θ
Cv = k − Lρw u , 0 < x < ∞
∂t ∂x ⎝ ∂x ⎠ ∂t (2)
T (x , 0) = Tini (3)
T (0, t ) = Tw (4)
in which Cv is the volumetric heat capacity, k is the thermal con-
ductivity, and L is the latent heat for the phase change of ice (334 kJ/
kg).
In Eq. (2), unfrozen water content θu equals θ0 if the soil tempera-
ture is above Tf, and it is determined by Eq. (1) if the soil temperature is
below Tf.
2.2. Governing equations for consolidation
The heat transfer equations in Section 2.1 determine the position of
the thawing front S(t), which is the interface between the frozen soil
and thawed soil. In the region 0<x<S(t), the consolidation of thawed
soil under the time-varying external load Pext(t) is studied, and the
governing equation can be written as [20] (linear consolidation is
considered)
∂ 2u ∂u dP (t )
Cg = − ext , 0 < x < S (t )
∂x 2 ∂t dt (5)
in which Cg is the coefficient of consolidation, and u is the excessive
pore water pressure.
At t = 0, the thawing front S(t) is at x = 0, and the initial condition
for consolidation is satisfied naturally. At ground surface x = 0, the MN
model only considered a pervious boundary; in practice, there is also
the possibility that the ground surface is covered by impervious mate-
rials. Therefore, the following two types of drainage boundaries are
considered:
u (0, t ) = 0, for pervious boundary (6a)
∂u
(0, t ) = 0, for impervious boundary
∂x (6b)
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

At the thawing front S(t), one equation needs to be satisfied, and it

can be developed in the same way as the MN model.
The permeability of liquid water in frozen soil is low, and thus the
liquid flow below the thawing front is neglected. For a small element
V = ΔS (t )× A at the thawing front (see Fig. 1, whereΔS (t ) is the length
of the element, A is the cross-section area, and V is the volume), water
flowing from this element at a time interval Δt should be equal to the
volume change of this element, and the equation is
∂u
γw ΔV = −k g (S (t ), t ) AΔt
∂x (7)
in which ΔV is the volume change of this element, γw is the gravita-
tional density of water, and kg is the permeability of soil.
For this element, the volumetric strain can be related to the change
of effective stress using
Fig. 2. Approximation of continuous phase change process with multistep
ΔV ΔV phase change process and transformation of original problem to multiphase
= = −m v Δσ '
V AΔS (t ) (8) moving boundary problem (N = 5, and T decreases in direction of coordinate
arrow).
in which m v is the coefficient of volume compressibility, and Δσ ' is the
change in effective stress.
At the thawing front S(t), the total stress σ , pore water pressure Pw , occurs when the temperature reaches Tpi. The temperature Tpi at which
and effective stress σ ' can be expressed as each step of the phase change occurs is defined as a pseudo phase
transition temperature, and it can be calculated from the inverse
σ (S (t ), t ) = Pext (t ) + γS (t ) (9a)
function of Eq. (1).
Pw (S (t ), t ) = u (S (t ), t ) + γw S (t ) (9b) As shown in Fig. 2, the isotherm of Tpi is denoted as Si(t), which also
moves downward with time. Then, the computational region
σ ' (S (t ), t ) = Pext (t ) + γ 'S (t ) − u (S (t ), t ) (9c) 0 < x < ∞ is divided into N + 1 regions by these isotherms. In each
' region, the components of the soil are constant; for example, the un-
in which γ is the gravitational density of soil, and γ = γ − γw .
frozen water content θu (i) and the ice content θi (i) for the soil in region
The initial effective stress for the thawed soil is usually considered
i are
as 0 [3], and then the change of effective stress is
θu (i) = θ0 − (i − 1)(θ0 − θr )/ N , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N + 1 (12a)
Δσ ' = Pext (t ) + γ 'S (t ) − u (S (t ), t ) (10)
From Eqs. (7), (8), and (10), the equation at the thawing front can θi (i) = [θ0 − θu (i)] ρw / ρi , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N + 1 (12b)
be given as The thermal properties of soil are determined by the components.
' dS (t ) ∂u (S (t ), t ) Thus, they are also constant in each region. For region i, the thermal
[Pext (t ) + γ S (t ) − u (S (t ), t )] = Cg
dt ∂x (11) conductivity and the heat capacity are denoted as ki, and Cvi, respec-
tively, and the heat diffusivity can be calculated as αi = ki/Cvi. After
approximating the continuous phase change of soil ice with a multistep
3. Analytical solution
phase change process, the governing equation for heat transfer becomes

Section 2 develops a model for the one-dimensional thaw con- ∂2Ti ∂T

αi = i , Si − 1 (t ) ≤ x < Si (t ), i = 1, 2, ⋯, N + 1
solidation process that considers unfrozen water in frozen soil and time- ∂x 2 ∂t (13)
varying loads under two types of drainage boundaries. This section
in which Ti is the unknown temperature in region i, S0 (t ) = 0 , and
establishes an analytical solution for the model.
SN + 1 (t ) = +∞.
The initial and boundary conditions can then be written as
3.1. Position of thawing front
TN + 1 (x , 0) = Tini, T1 (0, t ) = Tw, TN + 1 (+∞, t ) = Tini (14)
Before computing the consolidation process, the position of the
At the moving interface Si(t), the temperature is continuous and
thawing front needs to be determined, and thus the temperature field is
equals Tpi; liquid water with an amount of (θ0 − θr )/ N is melted from
dealt with first. Although many researchers have investigated (ap-
soil ice. The conditions can be expressed as
proximate) analytical solutions for the freezing and thawing processes
of soil (frozen soil) [21,22], there has been no analytical solution re- Ti (Si (t ), t ) = Ti + 1 (Si (t ), t ) = Tpi, i = 1, 2, ⋯, N (15)
ported for the thawing process of frozen soil considering the effect of
unfrozen water. Zhou & Zhou [19] and Li et al. [23] developed ap- ∂Ti ∂Ti + 1 dSi (t )
− ki + ki + 1 = Li , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N
proximate analytical solutions for the temperature field during similar ∂x Si (t ) ∂x Si (t ) dt (16)
soil freezing processes, and this technique can be applied here.
in which Li = (θ0 − θr ) ρw L/ N .
The continuous phase change of ice in frozen soil is first approxi-
Eqs. (13)–(16) describe the governing equations for a multiphase
mated using a multistep phase change process. The liquid water content
moving boundary problem, and an analytical solution for this problem
at Tini is θr, and the liquid water content after the ice is completely
can be found in [24].
melted is θ0. Thus, the total amount of the phase change is θ0 − θr. We
The solution for the temperature in region i can be expressed as
assume that the phase change of soil ice takes N steps, and liquid water
with an amount of (θ0 − θr)/N is melted from the ice at each step. If N x ⎞
is large enough, the multistep phase change process will be very close to Ti (x , t ) = ai + bi erfc ⎜⎛ ⎟ , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N + 1

⎝ 2 αi t ⎠ (17)
the original process. Fig. 2 shows a special case for N = 5. When the
temperature increases from Tp(i+1) to Tpi, there is no phase change, and in which erfc(∙) is the complementary error function, and ai and bi are
the phase change (an amount of (θ0 − θr)/5 in liquid water) only coefficients to be determined.

3
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

To satisfy Eqs. (15) and (16), the positions of moving interfaces Eqs. (26)–(28) are P1 (x , t ) and P2 (x , t ) , respectively, then the solution
should be in the form of for Eqs. (26)–(28) under the external load APext1 (t ) + BPext2 (t ) will be
AP1 (x , t ) + BP2 (x , t ) . This statement means that the superposition
Si (t ) = 2λi αi t , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N (18)
principle is applicable to P (x , t ) , and it can be confirmed by direct
in which λi are coefficients to be determined. substitution.
Using Eqs. (14) and (15), the coefficients ai and bi can be expressed Since the superposition principle is applicable for Eqs. (26)–(28), we
by λi as consider a situation in which Pext (t ) is in the form of Pc t β/2 (Pc and β are
nonnegative constants), the solution of which can be used as an ele-
Tpi erfc(λi − 1 wi − 1) − Tp (i − 1) erfc(λi ) ΔTpi
ai = , bi = ,i mentary solution to establish a solution for an arbitrary load Pext (t ) .
Φi Φi
The similarity transformation technique [27] can be applied to es-
= 1, 2, 3, ⋯, N , N + 1 (19) tablish an analytical solution for Eqs. (26)–(28) if the external load is in
in which erf(∙) is the error function, λ 0 = 0 , λN + 1 = +∞, and the form of Pc t β/2 . We introduce the following similarity variables:

ΔTpi = Tp (i − 1) − Tpi, i = 1, 2, ⋯, N , N + 1 P (x , t ) x
(20) f= ,η=
t β /2 2 Cg t (29)
wi = αi/ αi + 1 , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N ; w0 = 1 (21)
Substitution of Eq. (29) into Eqs. (26)–(28) leads to
Φi = erfc(λi − 1 wi − 1) − erfc(λi ), i = 1, 2, ⋯, N , N + 1 (22)
d 2f df
+ 2η − 2βf = 0, 0 ≤ η ≤ R
From Eq. (16), nonlinear equations for the coefficients λi can be dη2 dη (30)
deduced as
f (0) = −Pc (31)
ki bi exp(−λi2) − ki + 1 bi + 1 wi exp(−λi2 wi2) = π Li αi λi , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N
(23) df
= −2Rf
It was proven by Wilson [25] that there is a unique group of positive dη η=R (32)
λi satisfying Eq. (23). After λi are determined, the coefficients ai and bi
The general solution for Eq. (30) can be written as [28]
and the temperature solution Ti(x, t) can be calculated. For the com-
putation of λi , an algorithm similar to that presented by Zhou & Hu [26] β 1 β 1 3
f (η) = AM ⎛− , , −η2⎞ + BηM (− + , , −η2 ), 0 ≤ η ≤ R
is adopted and presented in Appendix A. ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ 2 2 2 (33)
The temperature field during the thawing process is thus obtained.
in which A and B are coefficients to be determined, and M(p, q, z) is the
In Section 3.2, we will establish an analytical solution for the con-
Kummer function defined as [29]
solidation in the thawed region. To compute the consolidation process,
the position of the thawing front is required: it is just S1(t) and can be ∞ (p)l l
expressed as
M (p , q, z ) = ∑l=0 (q)l l!
z , q cannot be a nonpositive integer

S (t ) = αthaw t (24) (34)

in which αthaw = 2λ1 α1 . From Eq. (31), the coefficient A can be determined as
From the above deductions, the position of the thawing front still A = −Pc (35)
increases in proportion to the square root of time as described in Eq.
The derivatives for the two terms in Eq. (33) are [29]
(24), even in situations when the unfrozen water in frozen soil is taken
into account. d ⎛ β 1 β 3
M − , , −η2⎞ = 2βηM ⎛− + 1, , −η2⎞
dη ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ (36)
3.2. Analytical solution for consolidation process
d β 1 3 β 1 1
[ηM ⎛− + , , −η2⎞ ] = M ⎛− + , , −η2⎞
3.2.1. Pervious surface boundary dη ⎝ 2 2 2 ⎠ ⎝ 2 2 2 ⎠ (37)
The consolidation occurs in the region 0 < x < S(t) with S(t)
Using Eqs. (36) and (37), the coefficient B can be determined from
described by Eq. (24), and the pervious surface boundary presented in
Eq. (32) as
Eq. (6a) is considered first.
We introduce a new variable
B = 2Pc
( β 3
)
βRM − 2 + 1, 2 , −R2 + RM − 2 , 2 , −R2 ( β 1
)
γ'
P (x , t ) = u (x , t ) − Pext (t ) − Cx with C =
1 + 1/2R2 (25)
M ( β
−2 +
1 1
, ,
2 2
−R2 )+ 2R2M ( β
−2 +
1 3
, ,
2 2
−R2 ) (38)

in which R = αthaw /2 Cg . Then, the excessive pore water pressure can be written as
Governing equations for the new variable can be written as
β 1 β 1 3
u (x , t ) = ⎡AM ⎛− , , −η2⎞ + BηM ⎛− + , , −η2⎞ ⎤ t β /2 + Pc
∂ 2P ∂P ⎢
⎣ ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ ⎝ 2 2 2 ⎠⎥⎦
Cg 2 = , 0 < x < S (t )
∂x ∂t (26)
t β /2 + Cx , 0 < x < S (t ) (39)
P (0, t ) = −Pext (t ) (27) If β = 0 , then the time-varying load Pc t β/2
will reduce to an instant
∂P dS (t ) load Pc, which was investigated by the MN model. In the following
Cg [S (t ), t ] = −P [S (t ), t ] discussion, we deduce that Eq. (39) may reduce to the solution of the
∂x dt (28)
MN model if β goes to 0.
The consolidation process occurs in a time-varying region We first consider a situation in which β is an integer denoted as n,
0 < x < S(t), and it is different from traditional consolidation pro- and the two terms in Eq. (33) can be related to repeated integrals of
cesses. However, the position of the thawing front is determined before error function in erfc(∙) using the following formulas [28]:
the computation of the consolidation process, and thus it is not coupled
with the consolidation process. n 1 n
M ⎛− , , −η2⎞ = 2nΓ ⎛ + 1⎞ En (η)
Under time-varying external loads Pext1 (t ) and Pext2 (t ) , if solutions for ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ ⎝2 ⎠ (40)

4
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

n 1 3 n 1 2C Cg
ηM ⎛− + , , −η2⎞ = 2n − 1Γ ⎛ + ⎞ Fn (η) A¯ ip = [2Ri erfc(−R) + erfc(−R)]
⎝ 2 2 2 ⎠ ⎝2 2⎠ (41) ξip (58)
in which
2C Cg
En (z ) = [in erfc(z ) + inerfc( −z )]/2, Fn (z ) = [inerfc( −z ) − inerfc(z )]/2 B¯ip = [−2Rierfc(R) + erfc(R)]
ξip (59)
(42)
2 ∞ in which
i−1erfc(z ) =
π
exp(−z 2), in erfc(z ) = ∫z in − 1erfc(x ) dx
(43)
1
ξip = 4R ⎡Rerf(R) + exp(−R2) ⎤ + 2erf(R)
Then, the solution of excessive pore water pressure can be trans- ⎣ π ⎦ (60)
formed to
After all these coefficients are calculated, the solution for the ex-
¯ n erfc(η) + Bi
u (x , t ) = [Ai ¯ n erfc(−η)] t n /2 + Pc t n /2 + Cx , 0 < x < S (t ) cessive pore water pressure is
(44)
u (x , t ) = [A¯ ip ierfc(η) + B¯ip ierfc(−η)] t 1/2 + Pext (t ) + Cx , 0 < x < S (t )
in which
(61)
Pc 1
A¯ = − [ in − 1erfc(−R) + in erfc(−R)] From the deductions in Section 3.2.2, the analytical solution for an
in erfc(0) ξ 2R (45)
arbitrary external load Pext (t ) can be established directly when the im-
Pc 1 pervious surface boundary is considered.
B¯ = − [ in − 1erfc(R) − in erfc(R)]
in erfc(0) ξ 2R (46)
4. Numerical solution
1 n−1
ξ= [i erfc( −R) + in − 1erfc(R)] + inerfc( −R) − inerfc(R)
2R (47)
Compared with analytical methods, numerical methods are usually
he following identity is introduced: more adaptive and can be applied to deal with complex problems
[30–32]. This section develops a numerical solution for the thaw con-
erfc( −η) = 2 − erfc(η) = 1 + erf(η) (48)
solidation problem presented in Section 2.
If the integer n equals 0, then the solution of excessive pore water
pressure further reduces to 4.1. Position of thawing front
Pc
u (x , t ) = erf(η) + Cx , 0 < x < S (t )
exp(−R2) The position of the thawing front needs to be tracked such that the
πR
+ erf(R) (49) computational region for the consolidation can be determined.
It can be seen that Eq. (49) is the same as the analytical solution of Therefore, the temperature field is studied first. In the numerical so-
the MN model. lution, the computational region for the temperature field is [0, Leff]
with Leff the actual thickness of the frozen soil layer.
3.2.2. Impervious surface boundary The governing equation for heat transfer can be transformed into
For a situation with an impervious boundary at x = 0, we introduce ∂T ∂ ∂T
the same variable P(x, t) as defined in Eq. (25), and the governing C¯ v = [k ]
∂t ∂x ∂x (62)
equations for P(x, t) are
in which
∂ 2P ∂P
Cg = , 0 < x < S (t ) Cv T ≥ Tf
∂x 2 ∂t (50) ⎧
C¯ v = ∂θu
⎨Cv + Lρw ∂T T < Tf
∂P ⎩ (63)
= −C
∂x (51)
x=0 The finite volume method is adopted to solve the heat transfer
∂P dS (t ) process, and Nt nodes are used to divide the region [0, Leff] into Nt − 1
Cg [S (t ), t ] = −P [S (t ), t ] equal-sized intervals. As shown in Fig. 3, the jth node represents the jth
∂x dt (52)
control volume bounded by the n and s interfaces; the 1st node x1 = 0
The following similarity variables are introduced: and the Ntth node xNt = Leff only contain half the control volume.
P (x , t ) x Discrete equations for Eq. (62) can be established by integrating the
f= ,η=
t 2 Cg t (53) equation in each control volume [33]:
Δt n + 1 Δt Δt
The partial differential Eqs. (50)–(52) become − kn T j − 1 + ⎡ (k n + k s ) 2 + C¯ vj ⎤ T jn + 1 − k s 2 T jn++11
Δx 2 ⎣ Δx ⎦ Δx
d 2f df
+ 2η − 2f = 0, 0 ≤ η ≤ R = C¯ vj T jn, j = 2, 3, ⋯, Nt − 1 (64)
dη2 dη (54)

df
= −2C Cg
dη η=0 (55)

df
= −2Rf
dη η=R (56)
The general solution for Eq. (54) can be written as [28]
f (η) = A¯ ip ierfc(η) + B¯ip ierfc(−η) (57)
The coefficients Āip and B̄ip can be determined from Eqs. (55) and
(56) as Fig. 3. Configuration of control volumes and discontinuity of dS(t)/dt.

5
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

in which Δt is the time step, Δx is the length of the control volume, and Taking the pervious boundary for example, the governing equations
the superscript n + 1 means the (n + 1)th time step. The subscripts n for W(x, t) can be written as
and s represent parameters evaluated at the n and s interfaces, and a
∂ 2W ∂W
harmonic average is adopted (e.g., 2/ k n = k−j 1 + k−j −11). kj and C̄vj are the Cg = , 0 < x < S (t )
(69)
∂x 2 ∂t
thermal conductivity and the equivalent volumetric heat capacity [Eq.
(63)] for the jth control volume, respectively, and they are evaluated at W (0, t ) = −Pext (t ) (70)
the temperature T jn + 1.
Discrete equations for the boundaries are ∂W dS (t )
Cg (S (t ), t ) = [γ 'S (t ) − W (S (t ), t )]
∂x dt (71)
T1n + 1 = Tw (65)
The computational region can be transformed to a fixed region if we
TNnt+ 1 = Tini (66) use a new coordinate x¯ = x / S (t ) , and governing equations under this
new coordinate can be written as [34]
From the temperature distribution at the nth time step, the tem-
∂ 2W dS (t ) ∂W ∂W
perature at the (n + 1)th time step can be determined from Eqs. Cg + xS
¯ (t ) = S 2 (t ) , 0 < x¯ < 1
∂x¯ 2 dt ∂x¯ ∂t (72)
(64)–(66), and the tridiagonal matrix method can be applied to solve
these equations [33]. As stated above, the thermal properties are all W (x¯ = 0, t ) = −Pext (t ) (73)
determined from the temperature at the (n + 1)th time step (a fully
implicit scheme). Thus, several iterations are required for the calcula- ∂W dS (t )
Cg (x¯ = 1, t ) = [γ 'S (t ) − W (x¯ = 1, t )] S (t )
tion of one time step, and the temperature at the nth time step is used to ∂x¯ dt (74)
determine the first guess for the thermal properties. The finite difference method is used to solve Eqs. (72)–(74). Mc
After the temperature at the (n + 1)th time step is obtained, a linear nodes are adopted to divide the region [0,1] into Mc − 1 equal-sized
interpolation is used to obtain the temperature field, and the thawing intervals, and the space interval is Δx¯ = 1/(Mc − 1) . The time interval
front is determined as the position at which the temperature equals Tf. Δt is the same as that used in the heat transfer process. Discrete
The left part of Fig. 3 presents a schematic for the variation of the equations for Eqs. (72)–(74) can be written as:
thawing front obtained from the above numerical scheme, and it can be
Δx¯ Δx¯ 2 n + 1 2⎤
seen that the velocity of S(t) is not continuous when S(t) passes through W jn−+11 ⎡−Cg + x¯ (j ) Stn + 1 (Stn + 1 )'⎤ + W jn + 1 ⎡2Cg + (St ) + W jn++11
each node. The reason for this discontinuity can be explained. Nor- ⎣ 2 ⎦ ⎢
⎣ Δt ⎥
⎦
mally, the velocity of the moving boundary S(t) should decrease with Δx¯ n + 1 n + 1 '
⎡−Cg − x¯ (j ) St (St ) ⎤
time, and this is indeed the case when S(t) moves from the (j − 1)th ⎣ 2 ⎦
node to the jth node. Before S(t) reaches the jth node, the jth control
Δx¯ 2 n + 1 2 n S n + 1 − Stn
volume is treated as completely frozen soil; however, once S(t) passes = (St ) W j , j = 2, 3, ⋯, Mc − 1; (Stn + 1 )' = t
Δt Δt (75)
the jth node, the jth control volume will be treated as completely
thawed soil. Therefore, C̄vj will reduce abruptly as S(t) passes the jth W1n + 1 = −Pext (tn + 1) (76)
node, and this causes a sudden increase in the velocity of S(t).
To avoid the discontinuity of dS(t)/dt, an improvement is made for Cg C
n+1 ⎡ g
− n+1
WM − 1 + WM + Stn + 1 (Stn + 1 )'⎤ = γ '(Stn + 1)2 (Stn + 1 )'
the above numerical scheme. This improvement is also applicable for Δx¯ ⎢
⎣ x¯
Δ ⎥
⎦ (77)
more complex problems in which the interface between the frozen soil
and the unfrozen soil needs to be tracked accurately. Assuming the in which x¯ (j ) = (j − 1)Δx¯ .
thawing front is in the jth control volume (as shown in Fig. 3), C̄vj for At time t = 0, the thawing front is at S(t) = 0, the computational
the jth control volume is then determined as region for the consolidation does not exist, and the definition of x̄ is
inappropriate. However, an initial value of W is still needed to de-
(Stn + 1 − x j,n ) C¯ vn + (x j,s − Stn + 1 ) C¯ vs termine the numerical solution. Savovic and Caldwell [34] indicated
C¯ vj =
Δx (67) that the analytical solution can be used as a start solution for the
moving boundary problem, and thus the analytical solution developed
in which Stn + 1
is the position of the thawing front at the (n + 1)th time
in Section 3 is adopted.
step, and it needs to be iterated together with T jn + 1 during each time
step; x j,n , x j,s are the coordinates of the n and s interfaces for the jth For a small time interval [0, t1], the external load is approximated
control volume; C̄vn is C̄v evaluated at the temperature (T jn, n+ 1 + Tf )/2 , using Pext (t ) = Pc t β /2 . The solution for u(x, t) was already developed in
Section 3, and the formula for W (x , t ) is
and C̄vs is C̄v evaluated at the temperature (T jn, s+ 1 + Tf )/2, with T jn, n+ 1 and
T jn, s+ 1 the temperatures at the n and s interfaces of the jth control volume. β 1 β 1 3
W (x , t ) = ⎡AM ⎛− , , −η2⎞ + BηM (− + , , −η2 ) ⎤ t β /2 + Cx , 0
After using Eq. (67) as the equivalent heat capacity for the jth ⎢ ⎝ 2 2 ⎠ 2 2 2 ⎥
⎣ ⎦
control volume that contains the thawing front S(t), the abrupt reduc-
< x < S (t ) (78)
tion of C̄vj when S(t) passes through the jth node can be avoided, and an
advancing thawing front with continuous velocity can be obtained, as in which A, B, and C are coefficients given in Eqs. (25), (35), and (38),
shown in Section 5.1. respectively.
The results of Eq. (78) at t = t1 are then used as a start solution for
4.2. Consolidation in thawed region Eqs. (75)–(77). After the solution of W (x , t ) is computed, u(x, t) can be
determined from Eq. (68).
The consolidation occurs in the region 0 < x < S (t ) , with S (t ) de-
termined in Section 4.1. To compute the consolidation, two problems 5. Computational examples
need to be solved. These problems were not previously encountered in
common consolidation processes. One problem is the establishment of 5.1. Verification of analytical solution
discrete equations in a time-varying region, and the other problem is
the initial value of the numerical solution. Dumais and Konrad [13] compared their solution with that of the
We introduce a new variable MN model as a verification strategy. Although the consistency between
Eq. (39) and the solution of the MN model was deduced theoretically, a
W (x , t ) = u (x , t ) − Pext (t ) (68)
direct comparison of the computational results is more intuitive and

6
Y. Zhou, et al.
Fig. 4. Comparison between Eq. (39) and solution of MN model (Pc = 200 Pa).
thus is also presented here.
In the MN model, the thawing front is given in the form of Eq. (24)
without computation of the temperature field; thus, αthaw = 10−3
ms−0.5 is set for both the MN model and Eq. (39). For the consolidation
in the thawed region, an instant load Pc = 200 Pa is considered, and
thus there is β = 0 in Eq. (39). The dry density of soil is ρd = 1300 kg/
m3, the initial water content in soil expressed by liquid water is
θ0 = 0.2, and the consolidation coefficient of thawed soil is Cg = 10−8
m2/s. Fig. 4 shows a comparison of the excessive pore water pressure
between Eq. (39) and the solution of the MN model. The results show
that the solution in this paper agrees well with the solution of the MN
model.
Then, the analytical solution in Section 3 is compared with the
numerical solution in Section 4. A one-dimensional thaw consolidation
process of frozen soil layer with a thickness of 5 m is considered, as
described in Fig. 1. The initial temperature of frozen soil is −10 °C, and
different boundary temperatures at x = 0 are used for comparison.
The dry density of soil and the initial water content are still
ρd = 1300 kg/m3 and θ0 = 0.2, respectively. The unfrozen water in the
frozen soil is described by Eq. (1) with Sa = 60 m−1.
The thermal conductivity of frozen soil (thawed soil) is determined
by [35]
θi θu θs
k = k ice k un k ske (79)
in which kice = 2.32 W/(m·K) is the thermal conductivity of ice, θi is the
volumetric ice fraction, kun = 0.58 W/(m·K) is the thermal conductivity
of water, kske = 0.907 W/(m·K) is the thermal conductivity of the soil
skeleton, and θs is the volumetric fraction of the soil skeleton.
The heat capacity of frozen soil (thawed soil) is calculated by [35]
Cv = Cice θi + Cun θu + Cske θs (80)
6 3
in which Cice = 1.9228 × 10 J/(m ·K) is the volumetric heat capacity
of ice, Cun = 4.18 × 106 J/(m3·K) is the volumetric heat capacity of
water, and Cske = 2.2279 × 106 J/(m3·K) is the volumetric heat ca-
pacity of the soil skeleton.
The analytical solution and the numerical solution are used to de-
termine the movement of thawing front. For the analytical solution,
N = 50 is used; for the numerical solution, Nt = 2000 is used for the
computational region., and a time step of 6 s is adopted. The positions
of the thawing front under different Tw obtained from the two solutions
are displayed in Fig. 5, and the two solutions agree well with each
other.
The consolidation process in the thawed region under the external
7
Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513
load Pext (t ) = Pc t β /2 is calculated by the two solutions. Pc = 1Pa∙s−β/2
and different β are considered. The consolidation coefficient of thawed
soil is still Cg = 10−8 m2/s. For the numerical solution, Mc = 100 is
used for the computational region [0,1], and the time step is the same
as that of the temperature solution.
Figs. 6–8 show a comparison of the excessive pore water pressure
between the analytical solution and the numerical solution under dif-
ferent situations. The agreement between the analytical solution and
the numerical solution verifies both solutions.
5.2. Comparison of thaw consolidation process between two types of loads
For the analytical solution developed in Section 3, the external load
is considered a power function of time. Since a certain form of suppo-
sition principle is applicable, the analytical solution under an arbitrary
time-varying load can also be established using the elementary solution
in Section 3, and this section presents an example.
For an external load on the surface x = 0, the MN model considered
an instant load; however, it is more practical to assume that the external
load increases gradually to a steady value. Qin et al. [15] adopted an
exponential form of time-varying load, and it is essentially equivalent to
the partially pervious boundary presented by Liu and Lei [36]. The
exponential load can be expressed as
Pext (t ) = Pc [1 − exp(−bt )] (81)
in which b is a parameter relating to the drainage condition on the
surface, and a value of 10−5 s−1 is used for the demonstration [15,36].
The exponential load of Eq. (81) can be expressed by a power series
as
∞
(−1)n + 1Pc bn
Pext (t ) = ∑ Pcn t n, Pcn = n!
n=1 (82)
In this demonstration, the thaw consolidation process for time up to
106 s is calculated, and a polynomial with 30 terms of the above series
is applied since it agrees well with the original exponential load for
times shorter than 106 s.
Using the solution in Section 3 and the supposition principle, the
excessive pore water pressure under the exponential load can be ex-
pressed as
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

Fig. 5. Comparison between analytical solution and numerical solution for position of thawing front.

u (x , t ) Fig. 9 shows variations of u with x̄ at different times under two types

30 of loads. The other conditions used for the computation are Tw = 10 °C,
= ∑ [A¯ n i2nerfc(η) + B¯n i2nerfc(−η)] t n + Cx + Pc [1 − exp(−bt )], 0 Tini = −10 °C, and Pc = 500 Pa.
n=1
At t = 104 s, the exponential load is only about 10% of Pc; corre-
< x < S (t ) (83) spondingly, the difference of u under the two types of loads is obvious.
With time increasing, the exponential load also increases and basically
in which the coefficients are
equals Pc at t = 106 s; moreover, the self-weight of the thawed soil
1 1 (which is the same for both situations) begins to show a greater effect.
A¯ n = (−1)nPc (4b)n [ i 2n − 1erfc(−R) + i 2n erfc(−R)]
ξn 2R (84) Therefore, the difference of u under two types of loads becomes less
pronounced with t increasing and is almost negligible at t = 106 s.
1 1 Figs. 10,11 show the variations of u with x̄ for different Pc under two
B¯n = (−1)nPc (4b)n [ i 2n − 1erfc(R) − i 2n erfc(R)]
ξn 2R (85) types of loads. The other conditions used for the computation are
Tw = 10 °C, Tini = −10 °C, and t = 106 s. The variation curves of u
1 2n − 1 with x̄ under different Pc are quite similar; however, there is small
ξn = [i erfc( −R) + i 2n − 1erfc(R)] + i 2nerfc( −R) − i 2nerfc(R)
2R difference owing to the term Cx in Eq. (83). The values of Pc used in
(86) Figs. 10 and 11 are much larger than Pc in Fig. 9; still, the difference in
The thaw consolidation processes under the exponential load and u between the two types of loads at t = 106 s is trivial. In conclusion,
the instant load [Pext (t ) = Pc ] are computed using the analytical solution; the difference in u between the two types of loads is almost negligible
soil properties used for the computation are still Sa = 60 m−1, for long time periods; however, this should be tracked during short time
ρd = 1300 kg/m3, θ0 = 0.2, and Cg = 10−8 m2/s. The excessive pore periods as well.
water pressures, degrees of thaw consolidation, and thaw settlements Fig. 12 shows the variations of u with x̄ for different Tw under two
under two types of loads are compared and discussed. types of loads. The other conditions used for the computation are

Fig. 6. Comparison of excessive pore water pressure between analytical solution and numerical solution under different Tw (β = 1, t = 120,000 s).

8
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

Fig. 7. Comparison of excessive pore water pressure between analytical solution and numerical solution under different β (Tw = 20 °C, t = 120,000 s).

Pc = 200 Pa, t = 105 s, and Tini = −2 °C. A higher Tini and lower Pc are difference in u(S(t), t) under two types of loads is mainly contributed by
adopted so that the moving velocity of S(t) is high and the self-weight of the first term, and it exists even at high Tw.
the thawed soil may exceed the external load. With Tw increasing, the To further compare the thaw consolidation processes under two
coefficient α thaw also increases, and the self-weight of the thawed soil at types of loads, the average degree of consolidation for the thawed soil is
a certain time will exceed the external load and become a dominating defined as
factor. However, the difference in u under two types of loads still exists
at high Tw, and the difference in u for Tw = 30 °C is at the same level as TSt
U=
the case of Tw = 1 °C. TSmax (88)
Using Eq. (11), the difference in u at the thawing front under two
types of loads can be determined directly: in which TSt is the consolidation settlement that occurred at time t, and
TSmax is the total consolidation settlement that occurs if Pext(t) and S(t)
u in (S (t ), t ) − uexp (S (t ), t ) are stopped at time t.
2Cg t ⎡ ∂uexp (S (t ), t ) The two settlements in Eq. (88) are denoted as TSmax,exp and TSt,exp
∂u in (S (t ), t ) ⎤
= Pc exp(−bt ) + − for the exponential load, and TSmax,in and TSt,in for the instant load.
α thaw ⎢
⎣ ∂x ∂x ⎥
⎦ (87) They can be determined as
in which the subscripts “exp” and “in” represent the cases for the ex-
S (t ) S 2 (t ) ⎤
ponential load and the instant load, respectively. TSmax ,exp = m v ∫0 [Pext (t ) + γ 'x ] dx = m v ⎡Pext (t ) S (t ) + γ '
⎢ 2 ⎥
From Eq. (87), the first term equaling 73.58 Pa is independent of Tw; ⎣ ⎦
for the second term, the two pressure gradients in the square brackets (89)
are quite close and α thaw increases as Tw increases. Therefore, the

Fig. 8. Comparison of excessive pore water pressure between analytical solution and numerical solution under different t (β = 1, Tw = 20 °C).

9
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

Fig. 9. Variations of u with x̄ at different times under two types of loads (Tw = 10 °C, Tini = −10 °C, Pc = 500 Pa).

S (t ) S (t )
TSt ,exp = m v ∫0 [Pext (t ) + γ 'x − u (x , t )] dx TSt ,in = m v ∫0 [Pc + γ 'x − u (x , t )] dx

⎧C 2 ⎧C Pc
= TSmax ,exp − m v S (t ) + Pc [1 − exp(−bt )] S (t ) + 2t n Cg t = TSmax , in − m v S 2 (t ) + 2 Cg t
⎨2 ⎨2 exp(−R2)
⎩ + erf(R)
30 ⎩ πR
⎡ 30
⎢∑n = 1 An (i ∑ B¯n
¯ 2n + 1erfc(0) − i 2n + 1erfc(R)) + ⎫
⎣ n=1 [R + ierfc(R) − ierfc(0)]
⎬
⎤⎫ ⎭ (92)
(i 2n + 1erfc(−R) − i 2n + 1erfc(0)) ⎥
⎬
⎦⎭ (90) in which the volume compressibility of soil m v= 0.3 × 10−6 Pa−1 is
used for the computation.
S (t ) S 2 (t ) ⎤ Fig. 13 shows the variation of U with time for different Tw under
TSmax ,in = m v ∫0 [Pc + γ 'x ] dx = m v ⎡Pc S (t ) + γ '
⎢ 2 ⎦ ⎥ (91)
two types of loads. The other conditions used for the computation are
⎣
Tini = −2 °C and Pc = 3000 Pa. Different from traditional soil con-
solidation processes, the average degree of consolidation does not reach
1 as time increases. This is because the region of consolidation increases
with time, and the consolidation is not completed. From the figure, the
average degree of consolidation under the instant load gradually de-
creases to a stable value, while the average degree of consolidation
under the exponential load gradually increases to a stable value. These
two stable values for the same Tw are quite close. With Tw increasing,

Fig. 10. Variations of u with x̄ for different Pc under two types of loads (Tw = 10 °C, Tini = −10 °C, t = 106 s).

10
Y. Zhou, et al.
Fig. 11. Variations of u with x̄ for different Pc under two types of loads (Tw = 10 °C, Tini = −10 °C, t = 106 s).
α thaw increases, and the thawed region at a given time also expands.
Thus, the stable value of U decreases, as shown in the figure.
Fig. 14 shows the variations of U with time for different Pc under
two types of loads. The other conditions used in the computation are
Tini = −2 °C and Tw = 10 °C. With Pc increasing, the thaw con-
solidation becomes more rapid compared with the expansion of the
thawed region, and thus the average degree of consolidation increases,
as shown in the figure. Another feature appearing in the figure is that
the average degree of consolidation with t approaching 0 seems to be
irrelevant to Pc. This can be explained using the definition of U. Taking
the exponential load as an example, the limit of U with t approaching 0
can be calculated from Eqs. (88)–(90) directly as (γ ' − C )/ γ '.
Fig. 15 shows the variations of the thaw settlement with time for
different Pc under two types of loads. The other conditions used for the
computation are Tini = −2 °C and Tw = 10 °C. The thaw settlement
under the instant load is greater than that of the exponential load. The
difference is more pronounced at the initial stage, and it decreases as
time increases but does not disappear. With Pc increasing, the difference
in the thaw settlement between the two types of loads also increases.
Fig. 16 shows the variations of thaw settlement with time for
Fig. 12. Variations of u with x̄ for different Tw under two types of loads (Pc = 200 Pa, t = 105 s, Tini = −2 °C).
11
Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513
different Tw under two types of loads. The other conditions used for the
computation are Tini = −2 °C and Pc = 3000 Pa. The results show that
the difference in the thaw settlement between the two types of loads
does not change much as Tw increases. With Tw increasing, although
α thaw increases and the thawed region at a given time expands, the
average degree of consolidation decreases, as shown in Fig. 13. These
two effects offset each other; thus, an increasing Tw seems to have no
great effect on the thaw settlement (the settlement caused by the phase
change of ice is not considered).
Defining the relative difference of thaw settlement between the two
types of loads as (TSt ,in − TSt ,exp)/ TSt ,in , the results show that this re-
lative difference (for Tw = 2 °C) at t = 106 s is around 4.7%. Although
the relative difference in the thaw settlement at t = 106 s is small, it
cannot be neglected during the process. Taking t = 105 s as an example,
the relative difference in the thaw settlement between the two types of
loads is 52.6%, and this magnitude of difference should be considered.
5.3. Effects of unfrozen water and drainage types
This section investigates the effects of unfrozen water and drainage
Y. Zhou, et al.
Fig. 13. Variations of U with time for different Tw under two types of loads (Tini = −2 °C,Pc = 3000 Pa).
types on the thaw consolidation behavior. The parameters used for
computation are still θ0 = 0.2, ρd = 1300 kg/m3, and Cg = 10−8 m2/s.
From Eq. (1), the relation between unfrozen water content and
temperature mainly depends on the soil specific surface Sa, and thus the
effect of Sa on the thaw consolidation process is studied. Fig. 17 shows
the variations of u with x̄ at t = 3× 105 s under different Sa. The other
conditions used for computation are Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, and
Pc = 500 Pa (instant load). The coefficient αthaw calculated from the
solution is also presented in the figure, and it decreases as Sa decreases
owing to two reasons. First, for soils with a lower Sa, most of the latent
heat is absorbed near the thawing front, and this restricts the movement
of the thawing front. Second, the phase-change point Tf increases as Sa
decreases, and this will also decrease the coefficient αthaw. For soils
with a higher Sa, the thawed region at a given time is larger. Thus, the
effect of the self-weight of the thawed soil is stronger, and the excessive
pore water pressure at a given x̄ is higher, as shown in the figure.
Fig. 18 shows the variations of thaw settlement and degree of
consolidation under different Sa. The other conditions used for the
computation are also Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, and Pc = 500 Pa (instant
load). With Sa increasing, the thawed region at a given time increases,
and the degree of consolidation decreases greatly. The thaw settlement
Fig. 14. Variations of U with time for different Pc under two types of loads (Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 10 °C).
12
Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513
mainly depends on the size of the thawed region and the degree of
consolidation. Since these two factors offset each other, the effect of the
variation of Sa on the thaw settlement is small. Taking t = 106s for
example, the thaw settlement for Sa = 80 m−1 is only about 7% higher
than that for Sa = 30 m−1. However, one thing still needs to be pointed
out: since the degree of consolidation for Sa = 80 m−1 is much lower
than that for Sa = 30 m−1, the final thaw settlement (assuming the
thawing front stops and the consolidation is completed) for
Sa = 80 m−1 will be much higher than that for Sa = 30 m−1.
A thaw consolidation process under an impervious boundary con-
dition is also calculated using Eq. (61). Fig. 19 shows the variations of u
with x̄ at different times. The other conditions used for the computation
are Sa = 60 m−1, Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, and Pc = 500 Pa (instant
load). Since there is an impervious boundary at the top, the excessive
pore water pressure does not dissipate. As the time increases, u at the
thawing front increases since the thawed region enlarges and the effect
of the self-weight increases. Owing to the flow of water from the
thawing front to the surface x = 0, u at the surface x = 0 also increases,
and this is different from the case with a pervious boundary.
The degree of consolidation is still defined by Eq. (88), in which the
denominator is determined by Eq. (91) and the numerator (which is
Y. Zhou, et al.
Fig. 15. Variations of thaw settlement with time for different Pc under two types of loads (Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 10 °C).
also the thaw settlement) is calculated from
TSt ,in
{
= TSmax , in − m v Pc S (t ) +
C 2
2
S (t ) + 2 Cg t [−A¯ ip i 2erfc(R) + B¯ip
i 2erfc(−R) + A¯ ip i 2erfc(0) − B¯ip i 2erfc(0)] } (93)
Using Eqs. (88), (93), the degree of consolidation and the thaw
settlement can be calculated. The computational results show that both
variables stay at about 0 as the time increases.
The thaw consolidation behavior under the impervious boundary
may give some practical instructions to the control of thaw settlement.
Taking the application of the artificial ground freezing technique [23]
as an example, the grouting method is often used to control the thaw
settlement during the thawing process of artificial frozen ground. From
the above computation, if the flow of grouting material is specially
designed to block all drainage passages for the water in thawed soil,
then the thaw settlement can be well controlled. However, attention
Fig. 16. Variations of thaw settlement with time for different Tw under two types of loads (Tini = −2 °C, Pc = 3000 Pa).
13
Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513
still needs to be paid to the excessive pore water pressure in the thawed
region.
6. Conclusions
In this paper, a one-dimensional thawing process of frozen soil
under a uniform initial temperature and a step increase of boundary
temperature was investigated. The classical thaw consolidation model
developed by Morgenstern & Nixon [3] was extended by taking into
account unfrozen water in frozen soil and time-varying external loads
under two types of drainage boundaries.
An analytical solution was developed. For the temperature field, it
was proven that the thawing front still advances in proportion with the
square root of time even with the unfrozen water effect taken into ac-
count. Although the consolidation occurs in a time-varying region, a
certain type of supposition principle can be applied to the external load.
The problem with an external load in the form of Pctβ/2 is thus con-
sidered as an elementary problem, and the analytical solution for this
problem was developed using the similarity transformation technique.
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

Fig. 17. Variations of u with x̄ at t = 3× 105 s under different Sa (Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, Pc = 500 Pa).

For other types of external loads, an analytical solution can also be
obtained using the supposition principle and the solution of the ele-
mentary problem. A numerical solution was also developed. For the
temperature field, an improvement was made to avoid the discontinuity
of the moving velocity of the thawing front; for the consolidation part,
the time-varying region was transformed to a fixed region and the
analytical solution was applied as a start solution.
Computational examples were presented. First, the analytical solu-
tion was verified by comparison with the solution of the MN model and
the numerical solution. Second, the thaw consolidation process under
an exponential load was compared with that under an instant load; the
results showed that the difference in excessive pore water pressure,
degree of consolidation, and thaw settlement between the two types of
loads should not be neglected during the process, especially for short
time periods. Third, the effect of unfrozen water on the thaw con-
solidation process was investigated, and the thaw consolidation beha-
vior under an impervious boundary was studied.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Yang Zhou: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing -
review & editing. Li-ying Zhang: Data curation, Writing - original draft.
Cheng Xu: Software, Validation. Tao Wang: Data curation,
Visualization. Guo-qing Zhou: Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ-
ence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grants No. 51878657 and 51978653), 111
Project (Grant No. B14021), and Fundamental Research Funds for the
Central Universities (Grant No. 2018XKQYMS16). Special thanks to the
anonymous reviewers for their comments, which have greatly improved

Fig. 18. Variations of thaw settlement and degree of consolidation under different Sa (Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, Pc = 500 Pa).

14
Y. Zhou, et al. Computers and Geotechnics 122 (2020) 103513

Fig. 19. Variations of u with x̄ at different times (Tini = −2 °C, Tw = 2 °C, Pc = 500 Pa).

this paper.

Appendix A. Computation of coefficients λ i

The nonlinear equations of Eq. (23) for i = 1, 2, …, N − 1 can be rewritten as

exp[λi2 (1 − wi2)]Φi
erf(λi + 1) = erf(λi wi ) + Ai , i = 1, 2, ⋯, N − 1
1 − Bi λi exp(λi2)Φi (A1)
in which
ki + 1 wi ΔTp (i + 1) π Li α i
Ai = , Bi =
ki ΔTpi ki ΔTpi (A2)
Wilson [25] proved that Eq. (A1) with i = 1 defines λ2 as a function of λ1, and the domain of definition is λ1∈ (0, δ1). Eq. (A1) with i = 2 defines λ3
as a function of λ2 and thus also a function of λ1. The domain of definition is λ1∈ (0, δ2) (δ2 ≤ δ1), and so on. In conclusion, there is a domain of
definition (0, δ), in which λ2 , λ3 ,…, λN are all well-defined functions of λ1.
The nonlinear equations of Eq. (23) for i = N can be rewritten as
exp(λN2 )ΦN
exp(λN2 wN2 )erfc(λN wN ) − AN =0
1 − BN λN exp(λN2 )ΦN (A3)
in which AN and BN are also in the form of Eq. (A2).
Wilson [25] proved that the left-hand side of Eq. (A3) decreases from a positive value to a negative value with λ1 increasing from 0 to δ̄ , in which
δ¯ ≤ δ and there is

1 − BN λN exp(λN2 )ΦN > 0, forλ1 ∈ (0, δ¯) (A4)

Therefore, a unique λ1 ∈ (0, δ¯) can be found to satisfy Eq. (A3). Once λ1 is determined, λ2 , λ3 ,…, λN can be obtained from Eq. (A1). A solution
procedure for λ1 is listed below:

(1) Define bot = 0, top = 1

(2) Set λ1 = top
(3) Are coefficients λ2 , λ3 ,…, λN calculated successfully from Eq. (A1)? Yes: go to (4); No: go to (5). Two conditions are required so that λ2 , λ3 ,…, λN
are well-defined from Eq. (A1). One is that the right-hand side of Eq. (A1) should be less than 1; the other is that the term 1 − Bi λi exp(λi2)Φi in Eq.
(A1) should be positive.
(4) Is the left-hand side of Eq. (A3) nonnegative? Yes: set top = 10top, go to (2); No: go to (5)
(5) Set λ1 = (bot + top)/2
(6) Are coefficients λ2 , λ3 ,…, λN calculated successfully from Eq. (A1)? Yes: go to (7); No: set top = λ1, go to (9)
(7) Is the inequality in Eq. (A4) satisfied? Yes: go to (8); No: set top = λ1, go to (9)
(8) Is the left-hand side of Eq. (A3) nonnegative? Yes: set bot = λ1; No: set top = λ1.
(9) Is |top-bot| < tol? tol is a parameter used to control the accuracy of λ1. Yes: λ1 = (bot + top)/2 , stop the procedure; No: go to (5).

15
Y. Zhou, et al.
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