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Numerical analysis on hydrothermal process around oil pipeline in permafrost regions of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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Abstract

Heat exchange between the oil pipeline and the permafrost leads to the geotemperature redistribution and permafrost degradation, threatening the pipeline stability. The water redistribution during freeze–thaw cycles affects the physical and mechanical properties of soil and induces heat convection. However, the hydro-thermal process of unsaturated soil around pipeline in permafrost regions still lacks comprehensive analysis. For this problem, a numerical hydro-thermo-vapor coupling model fully considering the contribution of vaporous water to water redistribution and the thermal effect of water migration in unsaturated soil was established, and the soil water and temperature distributions were analyzed. The results show that: (1) The proposed model is feasible to simulate the hydro-thermal process of soil during freezing process. (2) Oil pipeline significantly degrades underlying permafrost. The thermal effect of water migration deepens the permafrost table and aggravates the permafrost degradation. (3) Soil water not only accumulates near the permafrost table, but also migrates toward the pipeline bottom in the form of vaporous water. The influence of pipeline on permafrost is underestimated only from the aspect of temperature. The water redistribution should also be considered to evaluate the pipeline stability. (4) Insulation layer can effectively maintain the thermal state of permafrost. Water accumulation on the pipeline side will lead to soil slide downward, which is a potential threat to pipeline stability.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) Program (No. 2019QZKK0905), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2021TQ0114), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2021A1515110408), Open Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering (No. SKLFSE201810), Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou (Nos. 202102020486, 202201010262) and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Modern Civil Engineering Technology (No. 2021B1212040003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510641, China

    Tianli Lan, Xiaoxiao Luo & Qinguo Ma

  2. State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China

    Xiaoxiao Luo & Qinguo Ma

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  1. Tianli Lan
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  2. Xiaoxiao Luo
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Contributions

Tianli Lan: Methodology; Software; Validation; Writing -original draft. Xiaoxiao Luo: Methodology; Review & editing, Formal analysis. Qinguo Ma: Conceptualization; Methodology; Supervision; Validation; Writing review & editing.

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Correspondence to Qinguo Ma.

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Highlights

• A coupled hydro-thermo-vapor numerical model for unsaturated soil is established

• Water migration impacts on the temperature distribution of soil around the pipeline

• Temperature and water distributions simultaneously influence the pipeline stability

• The pipeline stability is threatened by freezing damage and downward slide of soil

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Lan, T., Luo, X. & Ma, Q. Numerical analysis on hydrothermal process around oil pipeline in permafrost regions of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Heat Mass Transfer 59, 763–778 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03299-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03299-8

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