Numerical simulation model of artificial ground freezing for tunneling under seepage flow conditions

Artificial ground freezing (AGF) is a reliable technique for ground improvement to address adverse geotechnical engineering conditions. The formation of a freezing curtain during the AGF process is crucial as it serves to control groundwater flow and enhances the strength of the soil. However, groundwater flow has a considerable influence on the formation of the freezing curtain because it provides a continuous source of heat. Thus, to investigate the influence of water flow on the freezing process during AGF, a moisture–heat coupling model was proposed considering ice/water phase transition to quantify the temperature distribution in soil during the freezing process. The proposed numerical model was further validated using thorough laboratory tests under various seepage flow conditions. Finally, a numerical simulation of AGF was conducted for the end well of the Harbin metro station in China. Five representative monitoring points on the end well were selected and continuously monitored for 30 days to predict the formation of a freezing curtain. It was observed that the temperature results obtained using the proposed model are consistent with actual field monitoring data.