Investigation on frost heave of Beiluhe permafrost embankment based on thermal behavior with new geocell reinforcement

Abstract

Frost heave phenomenon poses significant geohazard, threatening the safety of the infrastructure in cold regions as a result of freezing-thawing cycles. This threat the destabilizes the environment and complicates further construction. The paper aims to evaluate the uneven displacement associated with frost heave, focusing on the thermo-mechanical interactions that govern embankment stability and the potential benefits of the New Geocell Soil (NGCS) system. Field experiments were conducted to monitor thermal penetration, and microstructural analyses were performed to assess soil composition changes in response to thermal cycles. It is significantly correlated with the displacement, suggesting that temperature characteristics can be employed in assessments. The New Geocell soil system has been introduced to mitigate thermal effects and uneven frost heave. The identified alterations highlight essential weak zones for mechanical response evaluation at the top layer, with a significant increase in frost heave within the range of −2 °C to −1 °C. This complicates traditional evaluation models and necessitates a deeper understanding of thermo-mechanical properties. The results indicate that frost heave below 1 mm showed substantial improvement when reinforced with NGCS. The embankment is strengthened before the New Geocell system fails. The study presents a reliable strategy with soil pressure decrease in the range of 0–250 kPa. The frost front is diminished and it further indicates that New Geocell reinforcement can adapt to migration of thermal response.