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May 2005 |
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Annual Calgary Geotechnical Workshop
Registrations are now being accepted for the upcoming 3-day
numerical modeling workshop to be held September 28th to 30th in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. The workshop is a well-attended event that covers the
fundamental theory and practical application of the SLOPE/W, SEEP/W and SIGMA/W
software. It provides an excellent opportunity for geotechnical engineers
to gather to learn, enhance and fine-tune their modeling skills under the
personal guidance of numerical modeling experts.
Details of the workshop, including a brochure and
registration form, are available on our web site.
The Influence of Water Flow on Ground Freezing
Considering heat transfer processes in soils can be important to many
engineering problems. In any ground freezing scenario, the presence of flowing
water can significantly delay or even prevent the development of ice due to
heat addition by the moving water. While the TEMP/W finite element model has
been an industry standard for ground thermal analysis for many years, it has
only recently been coupled with the SEEP/W model so that the heat flow that
occurs with moving water can be appropriately considered.
To illustrate the importance that moving water has on heat flow, consider the following two figures showing analysis results. The figure on the left shows the temperature contours and heat flow vectors between two active, artificial ground freezing pipes. The figure on the right shows the corresponding water flow vectors as liquid water passes through the increasingly narrow unfrozen gap between the two pipes.
Under certain circumstances, it is possible that an equilibrium condition could develop that would prevent further development of a freeze wall. Previously, it was impossible to predict the effect that moving water would have on a ground freezing analysis, but through the advanced thermal and seepage coupling within GeoStudio 2004, it is now possible to better understand the complex relationships that exist between water and heat flow in soil and rock.
To read a more in-depth article on this topic, see "The Influence of Water Flow on Ground Freezing" on our web site.
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