Modelling embankment temperatures in Arctic highways using thermal modifiers and surface energy balance boundary conditions

Earl Marvin B. De Guzman, Samuel W. Kaluzny, Marolo C. Alfaro, Lukas U. Arenson, Guy Doré

In the proceedings of GeoSt. John's 2019: 72nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: Cold Regions Geotechnology

ABSTRACT: Highway embankments in the Arctic are typically designed to maintain road geometry requirements with thicknesses that can vary from 2 to 12 m. The thickness of an embankment also influences the thermal regime of the foundation soil where it is desirable to keep the permafrost from degrading to minimize deformations and prevent instabilities. Three years of continuous monitoring of a 5.3 m thick embankment section along the newly-constructed Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) in the Northwest Territories, Canada show that the core of the embankment fill is still frozen since construction. In order to understand the thermal regime in the embankment fill and foundation soil throughout the winter and summer seasons, a thermal numerical model was developed in a commercially-available finite element software using thermal modifiers and surface energy balance (SEB) formulation as boundary conditions at the ground surface. The results of both approaches reasonably simulate the recorded temperatures at the test site and provides confidence that climate change boundary conditions can be implemented for investigating future thermal regimes.

RÉSUMÉ: Les remblais routiers dans l'Arctique sont généralement conçus pour maintenir les exigences de géométrie de la route avec des épaisseurs pouvant varier de 2 à 12 m. L'épaisseur d'un remblai influe également sur le régime thermique du sol de fondation lorsqu'il est souhaitable d'empêcher le pergélisol de se dégrader afin de minimiser les déformations et d'éviter les instabilités. Trois ans de surveillance continue d'un tronçon de talus de 5,3 m d'épaisseur le long de l'autoroute Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk (ITH) aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest, montrent que le noyau du remblai est encore gelé depuis la construction. Afin de comprendre le régime thermique du remblai et du sol de fondation tout au long de la saison estivale et hivernale, un modèle numérique thermique a été développé dans un logiciel à éléments finis disponible dans le commerce, utilisant thermal modifiers (TM) et la formulation surface energy balance (SEB) la surface du sol. Les résultats des deux approches simulent de manière raisonnable futurs.

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Cite this article:
Earl Marvin B. De Guzman; Samuel W. Kaluzny; Marolo C. Alfaro; Lukas U. Arenson; Guy Doré (2019) Modelling embankment temperatures in Arctic highways using thermal modifiers and surface energy balance boundary conditions in GEO2019. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{Geo2019Paper279,author = Earl Marvin B. De Guzman; Samuel W. Kaluzny; Marolo C. Alfaro; Lukas U. Arenson; Guy Doré,title = Modelling embankment temperatures in Arctic highways using thermal modifiers and surface energy balance boundary conditions,year = 2019}