Research on Spatial Scale of Fluctuation for the Uncertain Thermal Parameters of Artificially Frozen Soil

Abstract

The scales of fluctuation of uncertain thermal parameters are the key to evaluating the spatial variability of artificially frozen soil, and it can directly affect the thermal engineering analysis of artificial frozen walls. In this study, the thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity at different temperatures (from −2.0 °C to 0 °C) are tested. Then the vertical and horizontal scales of fluctuation for the uncertain thermal parameters are estimated on the basis of the spatial recurrence method, curve fitting method, and correlation function method. A computational formula of the oblique fluctuation scale for the uncertain thermal parameters is proposed, and the oblique fluctuation scale for different angles is calculated and analyzed. The results show that the scales of fluctuation of uncertain thermal parameters calculated by the three methods are slightly different. The oblique fluctuation scale is larger than the vertical fluctuation scale, but is smaller than the horizontal fluctuation scale. The scales of fluctuation of uncertain thermal parameters are varied, and it is related to the temperature, water content, density, and depth. The results of the scale of fluctuation of uncertain thermal parameters in different directions reflect the spatial variability of artificially frozen soil, which has important reference significance for stochastic thermal analysis of artificial frozen engineering.