Numerical analysis on thermal regime of wide embankment in permafrost regions of Qinghai−Tibet Plateau

Abstract

This study investigated the temperature field and thawing depth of wide embankment for expressway in permafrost regions based on numerical analysis by using finite element method (FEM). According to specific embankment section of Qinghai−Tibet highway, computational region for numerical analysis was defined. And numerical model was developed through FEM software named as ABAQUS and was verified by field observed data. The effects by width and height of embankment on the thermal regime of computational region were analyzed based on FEM modeling. Numerical analysis showed that embankment construction has serious disturbance on the thermal stability of ground permafrost showing as annual average ground temperature and the maximum thawing depth keeps increasing with service time increasing. And larger embankment width leads to poorer thermal stability and more serious uneven temperature field of embankment. Raising embankment height can improve the thermal stability; however, the improvement is restricted for wide embankment and it cannot change the degradation trend of thermal stability with service life increasing. Thus, to construct expressway with wide embankment in permafrost regions of Qinghai−Tibet Plateau, effective measures need to be considered to improve the thermal stability of underlying permafrost.