Cooling of near-pile permafrost soils in the Arctic region

Abstract

This work is performed to improve or strengthen the soil in the permafrost region under building foundations or engineering structures in the conditions of the Far North. Freezing in winter and partial thawing in summer of the surface layer of permafrost are analyzed. According to the surveys on soil temperature, thawing of permafrost soils is predicted. Promising solutions are considered for the permafrost soil stabilization. The latest design solutions and developments are presented for the creation of many systems and devices for thermal stabilization of permafrost soils. A schematic diagram is suggested for the experimental installation for recording changes in ambient air temperatures and permafrost. The equipment is selected for studying the automated control system for the cooling process of casing pipe of the foundation pile and near-pile permafrost soil. An experimental installation is proposed to study the effectiveness of the automated control system. The model and simulation of this system is imple- mented in the SimInTech program. The automatic control system provides control for thermoelectric modules in automatic mode in order provide their best orientation in the ambient air temperature, depending on the soil temperature in the near-pile space of the foundation. A device is patented for stabilizing the frozen ground of a pile foundation with casing pipes containing a system for automated control for cooling process of the near-pile foundation.