Numerical Simulation of Thawing Process in Frozen Soil

Abstract

Permafrost has been thawing faster due to climate change which would release greenhouse gases, change the hydrological regimes, affect buildings above, and so on. It is necessary to study the thawing process of frozen soil. A water-heat coupling model for frozen soil thawing is established on Darcy’s law and Heat Transfer in Porous Media interfaces in Comsol Multiphysics 5.5. Three curves of total liquid water volume, minimum temperature, and total heat flux in the thawing process are obtained from a numerical simulation. The distributions of liquid water, temperature, and pressure based on time are simulated too. The liquid water distribution is consistent with the total liquid water volume curve. The temperature distribution is confirmed by the minimum temperature and total heat flux curve. The pressure distribution represents ice in the frozen soil that generates negative pressure during the melting process. The numerical simulation research in this article deepens the understanding of the internal evolution in the process of frozen soil thawing and has a certain reference value for subsequent experimental research and related applications.