{"title":"Numerical simulation analysis of failure mechanism of expansive soil canal based on thermo-hydro-mechanics three-field coupling","authors":"Zhe Wang, Ling-kai Zhang, Hui Cheng, Xiao-ying Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s00419-025-02895-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Under the action of multiple physical fields, slope failure frequently occurs in water conveyance canal projects in northern Xinjiang. The study of its failure mechanism is highly important for disaster prevention. To further study the sliding failure mechanism of the canal slope, COMSOL finite element numerical simulation software was used to establish a thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupling theoretical model by the partial differential equation (PDE) modeling method. The model was analyzed from the perspectives of solar radiation, the lining structure, and the groundwater level. The results show that: (1) The influence of solar radiation causes the canal slope to produce a shade-sun slope effect, and the large U-shaped canal is the most obvious on a single day of the freezing period. The maximum temperature difference among the three structural canals reaches 4.1 °C, 8.1 °C, and 4.8 °C, but the temperature difference during the maximum freezing period decreases. (2) Canal cross-sectional form: The degree of frost heaving uniformity of different canals is as follows: U-shaped canal > arc-bottom trapezoidal canal > trapezoidal canal. The recovery ability of the trapezoidal canal is the worst, which easily results in a hollow state and detachment phenomenon, but the increase in frost heave displacement is the least affected by multiple freeze–thaw cycles. (3) Groundwater level influence: An increase in the groundwater level changes the freezing depth of the canal, which increases by only 2.81% at the top of the canal and 23.91% at the bottom of the canal. When the groundwater level increases and decreases, the maximum frost heave displacement of the extreme point of the canal slope will fluctuate. (4) Canal failure modes: An analysis of the failure characteristics of the canal slope under the action of three influencing factors reveals that the failure modes of the canal mainly include uneven frost heave on the slope surface, hollowing instability of the lining structure, and fluctuations in the extreme points of frost heave.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":477,"journal":{"name":"Archive of Applied Mechanics","volume":"95 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archive of Applied Mechanics","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00419-025-02895-4","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MECHANICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Under the action of multiple physical fields, slope failure frequently occurs in water conveyance canal projects in northern Xinjiang. The study of its failure mechanism is highly important for disaster prevention. To further study the sliding failure mechanism of the canal slope, COMSOL finite element numerical simulation software was used to establish a thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupling theoretical model by the partial differential equation (PDE) modeling method. The model was analyzed from the perspectives of solar radiation, the lining structure, and the groundwater level. The results show that: (1) The influence of solar radiation causes the canal slope to produce a shade-sun slope effect, and the large U-shaped canal is the most obvious on a single day of the freezing period. The maximum temperature difference among the three structural canals reaches 4.1 °C, 8.1 °C, and 4.8 °C, but the temperature difference during the maximum freezing period decreases. (2) Canal cross-sectional form: The degree of frost heaving uniformity of different canals is as follows: U-shaped canal > arc-bottom trapezoidal canal > trapezoidal canal. The recovery ability of the trapezoidal canal is the worst, which easily results in a hollow state and detachment phenomenon, but the increase in frost heave displacement is the least affected by multiple freeze–thaw cycles. (3) Groundwater level influence: An increase in the groundwater level changes the freezing depth of the canal, which increases by only 2.81% at the top of the canal and 23.91% at the bottom of the canal. When the groundwater level increases and decreases, the maximum frost heave displacement of the extreme point of the canal slope will fluctuate. (4) Canal failure modes: An analysis of the failure characteristics of the canal slope under the action of three influencing factors reveals that the failure modes of the canal mainly include uneven frost heave on the slope surface, hollowing instability of the lining structure, and fluctuations in the extreme points of frost heave.
期刊介绍:
Archive of Applied Mechanics serves as a platform to communicate original research of scholarly value in all branches of theoretical and applied mechanics, i.e., in solid and fluid mechanics, dynamics and vibrations. It focuses on continuum mechanics in general, structural mechanics, biomechanics, micro- and nano-mechanics as well as hydrodynamics. In particular, the following topics are emphasised: thermodynamics of materials, material modeling, multi-physics, mechanical properties of materials, homogenisation, phase transitions, fracture and damage mechanics, vibration, wave propagation experimental mechanics as well as machine learning techniques in the context of applied mechanics.