Study on the influence of hydro-thermal-salt-mechanical interaction in saturated frozen sulfate saline soil based on crystallization kinetics

The freezing of saturated saline soil is a dynamic hydro-thermal-salt-mechanical (THSM) interacting process. One-side freezing experiment of saturated sulfate saline soil in an open system with no-pressure water supplement is carried out. The coupling mechanism of water and salt migration and the soil deformation in the freezing process has been investigated by the one-side freezing experiment. Based on the crystallization kinetics theory, a hydro-thermal-salt-mechanical coupled mathematical model for saturated frozen sulfate saline soil with the effect of phase change is proposed. Moreover, the influence of solute on the physical and mechanical properties of soil during the freezing process is considered. To solve the nonlinear equations, the finite element algorithm is applied to solve the general form of governing equations. Finally, numerical simulation is implemented with the assistance of COMSOL. Validation of the model is illustrated by comparisons between the simulation and experimental results. From this study, it is found that, (1) the phenomenon of macroscopic crystallization can be well illustrated by the microscopic crystallization kinetics theory on the basis of the concepts of the water activity and the solution supersaturation. (2) The pore pressure due to the effect of phase change is main driving force for water and salt migration as well as the deformation of porous medium. It is concluded that the positive pore pressure is the main factor for soil deformation, and the negative pore pressure is the driving force for water migrates to the frozen zone. (3) Salt migrates with water and is rejected into the unfrozen water in the process of ice formation, and the rate of salt rejection gradually increases with the decrease of cooling rate. Therefore, salt crystals with layer distribution are formed in the frozen zone during the freezing process, and the largest salt crystals distribution zone is formed near the freezing front due to the effect of solute diffusion. (4) The calculated results are well agreement with the experimental data, demonstrating that the proposed hydro-thermal-salt-mechanical coupling model can well clarify the mechanism of heat and mass transfer in saturated frozen sulfate saline soil, and predict the deformation due to the effects of frost heave and salt expansion.