Study of hydrothermal characteristics of large‐scale water conveyance trunk canals in seasonally frozen ground regions under the influence of different initial water contents

Abstract

Abstract In seasonal frozen soil, freezing and thawing can change the physical and mechanical properties and affect slope stability. There are complex moisture conditions in the main water transfer canal. A study of the hydrothermal evolution of canals with different initial water contents under the action of freezing and thawing is of great importance for the prevention and control of canal slope slides. Hydrothermal coupling models are the key to revealing the canal's hydrothermal evolution. As some of the modeling parameters in the current hydrothermal coupling model are based on empirical values, particularly those in the van Genuchten equation, which are not necessarily related to soil properties, they are not suitable for analyzing the hydrothermal evolution of canals. This paper determines the soil‐water characteristic curve from the cumulative curve of particle gradation in the subsoil, and then determines the hydraulic parameters of the subsoil using the VG model, which then corrects the hydrothermal coupling model. The method of modifying the hydrothermal coupling model is original, which makes the model more realistically reflect drainage soil characteristics. During freezing and thawing of channel slopes with different initial water contents (21%, 25%, 29%, 33%, 37%, and 41%), temperature field, water field, and ice content distributions were investigated. Using the V‐G model, the optimal parameters for canal subsoil were a = 0.06, n = 1.2, and m = 0.17, and temperature distribution trends between canals with different water contents were basically similar. Water will accumulate at the bottom as the liquid water content increases at the canal boundary.

Keywords

• canal slope
• coupled hydrothermal modeling
• freeze‐thaw cycle
• initial water content
• seasonally frozen ground regions