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Two-phase closed thermosyphon-induced frost jacking of piles and foundation instability in a thawed permafrost area

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Abstract

Two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) is widely used to cool foundation soil and improve the stability of structures in cold regions. However, along with the cooling of soil surrounding a TPCT, frost heaving of soil can occur, which might pull the structures out, but this phenomenon has rarely been reported. In this paper, based on field observations along the Qinghai–Tibet power transmission line, we present a case study on the frost jacking of piles, with the largest jacking amount being up to 65 mm from December 2011 to November 2018, because of the application of TPCTs. Owing to a greatly enlarged frozen section around the piles due to the cooling of TPCTs, moisture migration toward and frost heaving around the pile were greatly intensified. This resulted in an obvious increase in the tangential frost heaving force and a decrease in the anti-frost jacking force. Thus, the pile might be jacked out from the ground. In areas with shallow developed artesian ground water, the frost jacking of the pile with TPCTs was determined to be more probable because the tangential frost heaving force will be greatly increased. The influence of the decreasing efficiency, or even the failure of TPCTs applied in engineering structures, might give rise to the development of differential deformation, threatening the stability of the tower on the piles. The results indicate that the application of TPCTs for engineering in talik or seasonally frozen areas should be more careful and increasing concern should be given for the engineering influence of TPCT failure.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This program was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) program (Grant No. 2019QZKK0905), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41801039, 42071095), and the Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province (Grant No. 21JR7RA052).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Lei Guo, Qihao Yu, Yanhui You & Kun Chen

  2. Qinghai-Beiluhe Plateau Frozen Soil Engineering, Safety National Observation and Research Station, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Qihao Yu

  3. Gansu City Real Estate Development CO., Ltd, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Na Yin

  4. China Railway Qinghai–Tibet Group Co., Ltd, Xining, 810000, China

    Jinchang Wang & Yongning Sun

Authors
  1. Lei Guo
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  2. Qihao Yu
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  3. Na Yin
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  4. Yanhui You
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  5. Jinchang Wang
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  6. Yongning Sun
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  7. Kun Chen
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Data acquisition, methodology, numerical simulation and data analysis were performed by LG, YY, JW, YS and KC. The manuscript draft was written by the first author, and the supervision of the work was made by the corresponding authors. All of the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qihao Yu or Na Yin.

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Guo, L., Yu, Q., Yin, N. et al. Two-phase closed thermosyphon-induced frost jacking of piles and foundation instability in a thawed permafrost area. Nat Hazards 120, 619–637 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-06169-6

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