Sensing technology for measurement of thermal properties of frozen soil

Abstract

Soil is one of the most widely used materials in the civil engineering sphere. Different types of soil can be broadly used in its natural or compacted form in the construction of roads, dams, canals, and railways. Due to the differences in moisture content and temperature, soil can be in various states; saturated and unsaturated, frozen or thawed. Advances in the development of laboratory testing equipment for unsaturated soil properties along with the ability to measure soil suction have prepared the way for the implementation of unsaturated soil mechanics. It is now possible to measure most unsaturated soil properties, and these achievements help for unsaturated soil property characterization that best describe the actual unsaturated soil properties. However, the static and dynamic responses of frozen soils have been found to be distinctly different from those of unfrozen soils. The behavior of frozen soils is expected to depend on the inter-particle friction and particle interlocking, the unfrozen water content, pressure melting, and the ice/water phase change. Therefore, unsaturated frozen soil properties should be measured and investigated separately from unsaturated unfrozen soil. The objective of this study is to investigate the appropriate sensors for the measurement of thermal properties of unsaturated frozen soil.