International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

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International Journal of Mining Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmst

Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during

freezing process
Wang Pingsheng a,b,⇑, Zhou Guoqing a
a
State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Energy and resources including coal, oil, and gas are in demand all over the world. Because these
Received 4 January 2017 resources near the earth’s surface have been exploited for many years, the extraction depth has increased.
Received in revised form 6 April 2017 As mining shafts in the coal extraction process become deeper, especially in western China, an artificial
Accepted 27 June 2017
freezing method is used and is concentrated in the fractured rock mass. The frost-heaving pressure (FHP)
Available online xxxx
is directly related to the degree of damage of the fractured rock mass. This paper is focused on FHP during
the freezing process, with emphasis on the frost-heaving phenomenon in engineering materials. A review
Keywords:
of the frost phenomenon in the geotechnical engineering literature indicates that: (1) During the soil
Frost heaving pressure
Fractured rock
freezing process, the ice content that is influenced by unfrozen water and the freezing rate are the deter-
Low temperature mining factors of FHP; (2) During the freezing process of rock and other porous media, the resulting
Freezing process cracks should be considered because the FHP may damage the crack structure; (3) The FHP in a joint rock
Water and ice content mass is analyzed by the joint deformation in field and experimental tests and can be simulated by the
equivalent expansion method including water migration and joint deformation.
Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology. This is an open
access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Frost heaving of a rock-soil mass is a problem that exists in
many geotechnical engineering applications, such as tunnel and
slope engineering in cold regions, underground storage of liquefied
natural gas and petroleum gas, and deep mining shaft construction
using an artificial freezing method. Engineers and researchers have
observed the extensive effects of frost-heaving pressure (FHP) in
geotechnical engineering. Much research has been conducted on
frozen soil, such as the physical and mechanical properties of fro-
zen soil, the frost heave theory of frozen soil, and the interaction of
frozen soil and structures [1–3]. However, research is lacking on
details of frozen rock especially with regard to the effects of freez-
ing on joint rock. Because the physical and mechanical properties
of soil are mainly influenced by water or ice in the soil, the rock’s
properties are also mainly controlled by water or ice.
The joints in the rock mass represent important geological
structures that determine the stability of the rock, especially in a
fractured rock mass. Since the rock’s strength is usually deter-
mined by the strength of the discontinuity, the properties of the
⇑ Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory for Geomechanics and Deep
Underground Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou
221116, China.
E-mail address: wps_wang@126.com (P. Wang).
joint rock are mainly influenced by ice in the joints during freezing
temperatures. When the water in the joint rock freezes, the volu-
metric expansion of the joint fillings will be constrained by the sur-
rounding rock mass and the frost heaving pressure will increase
due to the phase change. If the pressure exceeds the strength of
the rock mass, the joint rock will break. If so, the tunnel, shaft, stor-
age cave, or other construction will be in danger [4,5]. Further-
more, low temperatures, especially temperatures below the
freezing point, significantly affect the stability of the surrounding
rock in many rock engineering projects. When the rock is exposed
to low temperatures and freezing conditions for a long time, the
deformation and intensity properties of the fractured rock mass
change greatly.
The effective calculation of the frost heaving pressure is useful
for the design theory to the above the geotechnical engineering.
With regard to shaft construction using the freezing method, Zhou
and Zhou established a model describing the growth processes of
the active ice lens in soils and thereby improved the method for
determining frost-heaving pressure [6]. Based on the interaction
between a frozen wall and the surrounding rock, the elastic-
plastic design theory was developed for the sinking of mine shafts
using a freezing process [7]. The same authors provided details for
the frost-heaving pressure occurring between the different engi-
neering walls. In a study of a cold region rock tunnel, the occur-

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
2095-2686/Ó 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
2 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
rence and expansion of the frost-heaving pressure were calculated
and analyzed by using a finite element method to prevent and
reduce frost damage [8].
2. Frost-heaving pressure in soil
The frost-heaving phenomenon in soil describes the volume
expansion caused by the phase change of water in the soil into
ice. The observable results of this phenomenon are the amount
of frost heaving and the frost heaving pressure. Both are influenced
by the water content and the properties of the soil. Temperature
and pressure in the environment have critical effects on the frost
heave. The frost-heaving pressure is also controlled by the confin-
ing boundaries that may exist around the soil.
The secondary frost heave theory of frozen soil is widely
accepted [9]. Several assumptions about the ice pressure are given.
If the cold side plane of the warmest lens, which consists of pure
ice, must bear the overburden, the ice pressure equals the overbur-
den. According to the similarities between freezing and drying, the
total pore stress or ‘‘neutral” stress rn is rn = vuw + (1
v)ui,
where v is a weighting factor that is evaluated and can be affected
by the unfrozen water content and the porosity of the soil, and uw
and ui are the water pressure and ice pressure, respectively. In the
ice segregation model, the lowest lens position is approximately
considered as a constant. O’Neill reviewed the physics of mathe-
matical frost heave models in frozen soil at length. The pressure
in the ice where frost heaving occurs was obtained using several
different methods. The main factors influencing the ice pressure
are the temperature and the unfrozen water content.
Because frost heaving caused by freezing of water in situ is very
small, it can be ignored from the perspective of engineering
because frost heaving of soil is mainly caused by water migration
[10].
The volumetric strain of frozen soil induced by freezing migrat-
ing water and original water was described by Yang et al. [11]. The
volumetric strain increment deh is described by the following two
equations:
deh ¼ 0:09dðW 0
W u Þ þ 1:09dW l
where W0 is the initial volume fraction of water; Wu is the volume
fraction of unfrozen water, which is the difference between the vol-
ume fraction of water (including original water and water migra-
tion) and the volume fraction of frozen water; d(W0
Wu) is the
increment of ice volume fraction of the original water; and dWl is
the increment of pore water volume fraction or the water migration
quantity, where the migration water is generally completely frozen,
and can be described as follows:
(
dW 1 ¼ dq ¼ q2
q1
pVffiffiffiffiffi
q ¼ m Tt þ n
where q1 and q2 are the total inflow q per volume at time t1 and t2,
respectively; m and n are constants depending on the condition of
the water supply and the soil properties; and Tt is the freezing time.
By applying the analysis model, which couples temperature,
water, and stress fields, to a tunnel corridor excavation, Yang
et al. found that the design parameters affecting the frost heave
were the thickness of the overlaying soil and frozen wall, the exca-
vation radius, and the cooling brine temperature [11]. All of the
design parameters had almost no effect on the position of the max-
imum horizontal displacement. An increase in the thickness of the
frozen wall increase the maximum frost heave at the ground
surface.
Zhang et al. explored the water migration and other frost heave
mechanisms using soil samples with three levels of soil saturation:
34.78%, 61.40%, and 100.00% [12]. The water migration volume,
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
heaving or settlement, pore water pressure, and permeability
explained the degree of frost heave in coarse sandy soil. The tests
indicated that the phase change of water occurred when the rate
of temperature and temperature gradient changed.
Ma et al. conducted experiments with regard to pore water
pressure during soil freezing, as shown in Fig. 1, where T0 is the
freezing point, Ts is the segregation temperature, and Tl is the crit-
ical temperature when the phase change of water into ice almost
complete [13]. During soil freezing, the pore water pressure under-
goes three phases. In the first phase, the temperature is higher than
T0 and the pore water pressure reaches the maximum pressure. In
the second phase, as the phase change occurs in the frozen fringe,
the pore water pressure drops as the temperature decreases. The
pressure reaches a minimum when the phase change of water into
ice is complete. In the third phase, the pore water pressure
increases slightly and is controlled by the mechanical equilibrium.
A simulation model is given by Wu et al. to calculate the total
water content in the soil during the freezing process [14]. The total
volumetric water content htw is expressed as htw = qihi/qw + hw,
where qi and qw are the density of ice and water respectively, hi
and hw are the volume content of ice and water respectively,
hi + hw = n, and n is the porosity of the test sample. During the
freezing process, the volumetric strain ev can be calculated as
ev = hi + hw
n0, where n0 is the initial porosity. The total frost
heave can be described as follows (Fig. 2):
R
ev dH
H ¼ HR ð3Þ
w
dw
where H is the frost heave amount; and H and w are the volume
and the cross-sectional area of the soil sample, respectively.
A new non-destructive method can be used to measure the
amount of unfrozen liquid water by using a multifunctional instru-
ment that includes a time-domain reflectometry sensor and ther-
mal pulse technology [15]. This method was applied to monitor
soils during the freeze-thaw cycle and the results showed that
the new sensor functioned properly. The variation in the degree
of freezing as related to temperature is shown in Fig. 3.
ð1Þ In the macroscopic view, the frost heave pressure in the soil
induces the deformation of the soil. Under low temperatures, espe-
cially temperatures below the freezing point of water, the soil will
expand with the phase change of water into ice. When the soil
deformation is constrained by a surrounding boundary, the frost
heave pressure will occur around the frozen soil body. Since the
actual change in volume of the soil particles is very small, the soil
volume change is caused for the most part by the water in the soil.
Usually, there are two sources of water in the soil, one is the initial
water content, and the other is the water migrating from outside
sources. These two water sources will decide the amount of frost
ð2Þ heave. In addition, after the freezing process, some water in the soil
will remain in the liquid state. The unfrozen water content and the
migration water content are the key factors that influence the FHP
and are decided for the most part by the soil properties and can be
obtained using experimental data and empirical equations.
Fig. 1. Changes in pore water pressure during freezing (modified from [13]).
 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 3

Fig. 2. Volumetric water content by soil height before and after freezing.

2rLG M 1
r¼
þ  þt ð5Þ
qL DH ln T 0
DT
T0

where r is the minimum radius of the pores at a temperature of

T0
DT; rLG is the surface tension at the liquid-gas interface; M is
the molecular weight of water; qL is the density of water; DH is
the molar heat of fusion; T0 is the ordinary freezing temperature;
DT is the temperature depression; and t is the thickness of a layer
of adsorbed water. Under freezing temperatures, rLG, qL, and DH
can be regarded as constants.
Rocks were assumed to be continuum materials in a mathemat-
Fig. 3. Relationship between freezing degree and temperature. ical formulation [17]. In this simulation (Fig. 4), the material prop-
erties of the rock and water can be obtained from experiments.
Water and ice are considered a mixture and thermal expansion
The pore water pressure and ice pressure in the soil during coefficient data are used.
freezing and thawing have been the focus of research studies with Three important governing equations were given: stress equi-
regard to frost heave pressure and the characteristics of the frozen librium, continuity flow, and energy conservation.
soil. The pore water pressure is the driving force that results in the
absorption of water into the frozen soil. Theoretical methods exist The stress equilibrium equation is as follows:
for explaining the pore water pressure and ice pressure; one of  
1
these methods is the use of the generalized Clausius-Clapeyron C jikl ðuk;l þ ul;k Þ
bij ðT
T 0 Þ
vcðf Þ udij þ qðsÞ bi ¼ 0 ð6Þ
equation. Many new experimental methods have been developed 2 ;j
to monitor the pressure, and with more accurate technology, some
The mass conservation equation (the continuity flow equation)
questions about the generalized equation have been raised. Thus,
is as follows:
further research efforts are required to investigate pore water pres-
sure and ice pressure. ðf Þ @T ðf Þ @u @u

fnSðrÞ gq0 bðTÞ þ fnSðrÞ gq0 bðPÞ ðqðf Þ gÞ þ qðf Þ CðuÞ
@t @t @t
@U i;i
3. Frost-heaving pressure in porous media such as rock or þ qðf Þ SðrÞ
qðf Þ kðhÞij h;ji ¼ 0 ð7Þ
@t
concrete
The energy conservation equation is as follows:
Frost damage to brick masonry is the result of the increasing dT
ðmÞ
ðqC ðv Þ Þ þ nSðrÞ qðf Þ C ðv Þðf Þ v i T ;i
K ij
ðf Þ ðTÞðmÞ
volume of water [16]. In the simulation research of Kralj et al., T ;ji
dt !
the masonry was considered an isotropic material with a thermal
bðTÞ @U i;i
expansion coefficient of 5  10
6/°C and a linear thermal expan- þ nSðrÞ T ðPÞ kðhÞij h;ji þ ð1
nÞbT
qðTÞ ¼ 0 ð8Þ
sion coefficient of ice as 0.03/°C. The volume change caused by b @t
freezing is treated similarly to the thermal loading with volume
expansion coefficients applied to the adopted mode. These
assumptions are similar to those of the condition of a sealed con-
tainer of water undergoing freezing. The amount of water that
can freeze at a certain temperature is determined by the porosity
and the pore size of the masonry.
Kralj et al. introduced the concept of effective porosity pe:

pe ¼ p  f f  f s  f ps ð4Þ

where p is the measured porosity; ff is the factor of freezing temper-

ature variation and is determined by the ratio of the frozen water
volume and total water volume; fs is the factor of saturation; and
fps is the factor related to the statistical distribution of the pores.
The pore radius is a function of temperature: Fig. 4. Thermal expansion coefficient of water versus temperature.

Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
4 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
where i, j, k, l are indicial notation and summation convention has
been used to represent vectors and tensors by indexed base written
in indicial notation; Cijkl is elastic constant tensor; u is specific inter-
nal energy; bij is thermal coefficient tensor; T is temperature; v is
Bishop’s parameter; c is unit weight; u is pressure head; q is mass
density; bi is body force; n is porosity; S is degree of saturation; U is
displacement vector; k is permeability tensor; h is radiant heat flux
vector; v is velocity vector; K is kinetic energy; and q is conductive
heat flux vector.
Considering the characteristic of soft rock, including weak, scat-
tered, high mineral content and strong water imbibition, it can be
put as high dispersion of hard clay frozen soil to analyze [18].
The water immigration can be described as follows:
@hw
¼ divðkgradwÞ
@t
where hw is the water volume content, hw = hu + hiqi/qw, hu is the
unfrozen water volume content, hi is the ice volume content; k is
the heat conductivity of rock; w is the energy to water immigration,
and w = aPw + G, a is transfer efficient, Pw is the water pressure, and
G is the geopotential.
The water pressure can be obtained from the Clapeyron
equation:
Pw Pi T ing micropore system [24]. A solid body with microcracks repre-

¼ L ln
qw qi T0
8 The crack-opening forces, P, can be expressed by Eq. (16):
> r ¼ vP þ ð1
vÞPi
< n  w
v ¼ hnu 1:5
>
:
hu ¼ AjTj
B
where Pw is the water pressure; Pi is the ice pressure; L is the latent
heat of ice; T is the temperature of the rock; T0 is the freezing tem-
perature of water under normal conditions; rn is the normal pres-
sure or the hydrostatic pressure; and n is the porosity of the rock.
This yields,
ð1
vÞqw qi L lnðT=T 0 Þ þ qw rn
Pw ¼
vqw þ ð1
vÞqi
In cold region tunnels, the force of the frost of the frozen lining
of the surrounding unfrozen rock is given. The constitutive relation
of the rock samples can be seen as a Poynting-Thomson model rep-
resenting a viscoelastic solution [19]. Here, when water changes
into ice, the volumetric expansion per unit volume is a constant
that is in a free condition. In addition, the rock samples are
regarded as being initially in the elastic state prior to the develop-
ment of the plastic zone and the stress in the plastic zone of the
surrounding rock can be calculated [20]. The frost-heaving pres-
sure in the plastic zone of the Gao et al. model is larger than the
greatest stress when the frost is regarded as a viscoelastic material
[20].
Ishizaki developed an experimental apparatus to observe the ice
segregation process in the frost-heaving process in porous rock of
Oya tuff [21]. The thickness of the ice lens, the speed of ice segre-
gation, and temperature were determined effectively by this appa-
ratus. According to the results of the experiment and the data of
the sample tensile strength based on the Clapeyron equation, the
ice pressure in the ice lens is described as follows:
P ¼
1:11T s
where P is the ice pressure, MPa; and Ts is the segregation temper-
ature of the ice lens, °C.
One possible mechanism of the freezing processes in a volume
of porous material is in-pore homogeneous nucleation [22]. The
final pore pressure ph is:
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
ph ¼ vh p1 þ ð1
vh ÞqC0 Du ð14Þ
u0 s  0

vh ¼ 1
ð1 þ aÞ1
1=ðau sÞ ð15Þ
1
au s
0
where vh is an under-pressurization coefficient; p1 is the pressure
result from an instantaneous freezing of the entire amount of pore
water; qC0 is the initial mass density; Du⁄ is the difference between
the potentials of undercooled water and ice at atmospheric pres-
sure; a and s are material properties that be obtained from exper-
imental data. u0 ? 1 represents instantaneous freezing, and u0 ?
0 means infinitely slow pore-freezing.
When the cement-based materials that were full of water com-
pleted the pore-freezing process, the final pore pressure was nearly
65.8 MPa (Fig. 5).
ð9Þ The effects caused by liquid nitrogen on a rock reservoir have
been described in experiments [23]. The main changes that were
observed in the rock pore structure when the samples (see Fig. 6)
were under low temperature included a reduction in the number
and volume of the pores, an expansion of the micro-fissures, and
an increase in the pore scale. The dried and saturated rock samples
were cooled by liquid nitrogen. The macroscopic cracks can be
observed in the saturated rock samples after cooling.
A new two-dimensional model was developed for a deteriorat-
ð10Þ sents a microstructure with micropores and a pre-existing
microcrack represents non-damaged micropores (Fig. 7).
ð11Þ P ¼ ðwt þ wd Þpan ð16Þ
where p is the maximum pressure; an is the half-crack length after
the nth cycle of freezing and thawing; wt and wd are the weighting
factors for the freezing and the water flow, respectively. The param-
eters p, an, wt, and wd can be obtained from the related experimental
data.
Different initial degrees of saturation of welded tuff (Sapporo
soft rock) exhibited different appearances after one freeze-thaw
ð12Þ cycle [25]. Cracks occurred on the sample surface when the initial
degree of saturation was greater than 83%. A linear crack pattern
appeared on the specimen’s surface when the beginning saturation
was between 83% and 88%. A radial crack pattern occurred if the
saturation was above 90%. This indicates that a critical degree of
saturation exists for a rock, and the values may be different in dif-
ferent rocks.
A rock mass with water or ice can be seen as one continuum
material during the freeze-thaw process [26]. Zhang conducted a
coupled simulation analysis and took the properties of the water/
ice mixture into consideration. In the model, the elasticity modulus
of ice was 9.0  103 MPa. In the finite element analysis, the
researchers took into consideration the expansion pressure of ice
for the stress equilibrium, the volume changes of water and ice
ð13Þ
Fig. 5. Pore pressure evolution during freezing in cement-based materials.
 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Fig. 6. Different samples under low temperature [23].
for water mass conservation, and the latent heat of the phase
change for energy conservation.
Based on the analysis of the frost-heaving pressure of soil, a
similar solution for frost heaving pressure in porous materials
can be obtained in the initial period. Porous materials such as rock
and concrete have been considered as homogeneous continuum
media to study their physical and mechanical properties. Temper-
ature fields and seepage fields have been determined for samples
and actual constructions using simulation and experimental stud-
ies. Furthermore, the frost-heaving pressure in porous media has
been described under different conditions and certain methods
used in soil have been applied to porous media. The effective
porosity and the expansion coefficient of the porous materials
and water/ice are important factors in related studies. Similar to
the research conducted for soils, information on the water migra-
tion in rock and other porous media was developed later and has
improved the theory of frost heaving.
Pore-water pressure and ice pressure in these porous media are
explained in the next section. Based on the pore structure of the
materials, the generalized Clausius-Clapeyron equation is used to
propose explanations about the water/ice pressure. The pressures
can also be explained using their relationship to the volume of
the water/ice mixture. Pore pressure has a significant effect on
the properties of the materials. Due to the differences between
rocks and soils, the investigation of microcracks in rocks should
be included in the analysis. The pore structure may be simplified
to a crack structure and the pore pressure may be considered as
the crack pressure. Under low temperatures, the water/ice phase
change and water migration will change the water and ice content
in the crack. As the freezing time increases, the crack structure
will become more extensive and will propagate. The different
properties of the rocks such as elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio
will occur prior to and after the freezing process.
Fig. 7. Modeling of cracks.
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
5
4. Frost-heaving pressure in joint rock
4.1. Pressure during ice formation
The basic pressure-temperature phase diagram of ice developed
by Dorsey is used here [27]. It describes that ice reverts to water if
the crystal growth is obstructed by rigid rock that has pressure val-
ues greater than 0.1 MPa (Fig. 8). Ice can have a maximum of
113 MPa at
10 °C and 211 MPa at
22 °C.
When water freezes, it forms layers of ice crystals on the outer
surface of the water [28]. The actual pressure in the water is mainly
influenced by two factors, the initial volume of water enclosed by
the ice block and the temperature of the ice block. When the initial
volume of water is less than 4 cm3, visible cracks cannot be
detected during freezing of the entire mass. If the beginning vol-
ume is greater than 20 cm3, the breakage of the ice block can be
explosive.
The necessary pressure on the water surface P is:
e 0:27dr
P¼ ¼ ð17Þ
j jR
where e is the bulk strain of water caused by freezing; dr is the
thickness of the ice layer; R is the water spherical radius; and j is
the isothermal compressibility of water. When the pressure exceeds
twice the tensile strength of ice, the shell breaks. A pressure
increase of up to 7.6 MPa has been measured within a 7–10 mm
diameter container of freezing water.
An experiment was set up to test the expansion pressure during
the water-ice phase change [29]. As the pressure is isotropic, its
values can be obtained for the condition: when one surface of
the water is unobstructed and the other surfaces are restrained
during freezing (Fig. 9).
Kang et al. determined that the equilibrium state in frost cracks
of rock can be described by the Clapeyron equation [30]. He gave
the relationship of P and T as:

10
T ¼ 273:16e
2:7210 P
ð18Þ
where P is the pore pressure of the rock, MPa, and T is the freezing
point of water, K.
Liu et al. established an analytical model for frost-heaving
pressure in a single fracture, taking into account the moisture
migration in the fracture [31]. The pressure changed with the
moisture migration flux, which was affected by the freezing time
controlled by the freezing temperature, the freezing speed, and
6 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Fig. 8. Pressure-temperature phase diagram of ice.

Fig. 10. Finite element model of the heat source environment (modified form [32]).

Fig. 9. Frost-heaving pressure changes over time.

the mechanical properties of the rock and ice. The frost-heaving

pressure in this situation is as follows:

k
1
P¼   ð19Þ
1
mT
k
þ a

2 s GT 1
K Ti b s ð1þmTs Þ

k ¼ ð1 þ buT Þð1
fÞ ð20Þ

where k is the volume expansion coefficient of water in the fracture

considering the moisture migration; b is the volume expansion
coefficient of water changing freely into ice, and b = 0.09; uT is the
ratio of frozen water; f is the ratio of the amount of moisture migra-
tion and the initial water volume; a and b are the features of the
fracture; KiT is the bulk modulus of ice at the temperature of T;
GsT and msT are the shear modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the rock
at the temperature of T, respectively.
4.2. Simulation work in joint rock
Noorishad et al. described coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical
(THM) processes in fractured rocks using a numerical solution
and considered the properties of the fracture but did not include
the expansions of the nonlinear fracture element [32]. As shown
in Figs. 10 and 11, the authors consider the fracture a specific
material with zero cohesion and 1.0 porosity. The fracture’s aper-
ture, pressure, and temperature are shown after simulation. The
heated rock is expanding and the aperture of the fracture near
the heater is closing. At the very beginning, full hydrostatic pres-
sure prevails in the fracture and the pressure diminishes rapidly
afterward. After the establishment of thermal stresses, the pres-
sure inside the fracture increases to the full pressure at the end,
similar to the beginning case.
Based on continuum materials analysis, a fracture can be trea-
ted from the standpoint of coupled stress and fluid-flow analysis
[33]. In this study, the Biot’s constants were provided for the
fracture materials. For clean fractures, the unity, the fluid
compressibility, and the thermal expansion coefficient were
considered.
Fig. 11. Pressure and aperture profile in the fracture for various durations and
temperature profiles along the heater’s mid-plane (modified form [32]).
A ubiquitous-joint rock mass can be treated as a dual-porosity
fractured medium in which the stress field and the temperature
field are single, but the seepage field is double [34]. Based on these
assumptions, a finite element method is developed. The results of
an assumed nuclear waste repository in the two cases of a dual-
porosity and a single-porosity medium show that in the single-
porosity rock mass, the stress concentration is larger and in the
dual-porosity rock mass, the water flows into the buffer are
quicker.
For joint rock, one method of simulation is separating the rock
and the fracture. By assuming that a fracture occurs, the changes
in heat and seepage in the fracture of the joint rock can be deter-
mined. As the fractures fill with different media, the different prop-
erties of the fracture are taken into consideration. Another type of
simulation for joint rock considers the rock and fracture as a unit.
The fracture properties will be applied to the entire rock mass
including the porosity character of the rock.
4.3. Experimental test of fracture shape
A photoelastic experiment was set up to study the ice pressure
in rock cracks by Davidson [35]. The researchers created a slot in a
transparent material that was similar to rock. The water was frozen
and expanded when it changed into ice and the pressure was

Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
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 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
recorded using a photoelastic technique. For the samples in this
experiment, the maximum pressure on the slot wall was
1.1 MPa. As the permeability of the rock-like material was very
low, only a small amount of water could flow into the transparent
material from the slot during the experiment.
In experiments of high-amplitude stress pulses in joint rock, the
results were influenced by the type of medium filling the rocks:
water, ice, or air [36]. These experiments show the considerable
influence of different fillings of the joints on the pressure transmis-
sion. At a low stress level of 1.2 GPa, the water in the joint will
attenuate to about 50% of the stress amplitude, whereas ice will
drop the stress to about 30% (Fig. 12). At a high stress level of
6.0 GPa, ice in multiple filled joints will decrease the peak stress
the most, more than ice in a single joint, water in multiple joints,
water in a single joint, and no joints. This demonstrates that ice-
filled joints will resist damage more than water-filled joints when
stresses are below 3 GPa.
Acoustic and micro-seismic emission monitoring were used to
obtain the opening deformation of the slot and ice pressure in a
rock mass [37]. The sensors used in this study were different from
conventional instruments like extensometers and crackmeters that
provide only local information. The approach was also different
from modern remote sensing instruments that feature high accu-
racy and scanning frequency but only measure the surface move-
ments of the rock mass. In a laboratory test of a rock specimen
with water-filled joints, seven freeze-thaw cycles were investi-
gated at temperatures ranging from
4 °C to 4 °C, and the maxi-
mum pressure of the ice on the cut sides reached 5.0 MPa.
Three types of rock (diorite, basalt, and tuff) were tested using
artificial freeze-thaw weathering in the laboratory and monitored
by CT (X-ray computed tomography) and SEM (scanning electron
microscope) to obtain changes in pore structure and physical prop-
erties [38]. A hole was drilled in the rock samples during the
freezing-thawing test. The specimens were completely saturated
and the middle holes were filled with water. The crack initiation
and propagation could be detected around the hole, but details
about the pressure were not mentioned. The particle collapse or
detachment and the pore connection were detected in all samples
using these tests.
Information on fractured rock samples, such as porosity, frac-
ture aperture, fracture density, and fracture orientations can be
obtained using a non-destructive method, the 3D X-ray micro com-
puted tomography [39]. By comparing the number of voxels that
are porous to the total amount of voxels, the bulk porosity can
be obtained. The volume of the spherical size of each fracture
can be described using the histogram of the sample’s aperture dis-
tribution. With the above statistics, the fracture density can be
defined as total fracture surface/sample volume. This method is
suitable for small plug samples of narrowly fractured dolomites
and combines several methods for an appropriate approach in
the microstructural analysis of rocks.
Fig. 12. Peak stress attenuation in different kinds of joint rock subjected to an
incident pulse of 6.0 GPa.
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
7
4.4. Field observations of frost-heaving pressure
When a rock with a jointing pattern freezes, the conditions of a
closed system are created with freezing water exerting high pres-
sure on the encompassing rock [40]. In the upstream portion of the
Kolyma River, a 25 m long and 20–40 cm thick ice vein was found
in a granite massif. The pattern and level of jointing, type and
amount of filler, and the water saturation of the rock massif had
a significant influence on the thickness. The rock might be heaved
when joints exist that do not contact the walls. The researchers
developed a method for evaluating frost heaving in this joint rock
by using an index for rock massif heaving. This index is a percent
fraction of the volumetric coefficient of the fissure voids of a given
portion of the rock massif and the index value was different for
various fill patterns of the joints. The values can be assumed and
were 10%, 20%, and 30% when the joints were completely filled
with ice, contained loose fill with ice streaks, and contained loose
fill, respectively.
Zhao and Tang presented the freezing pressure of a control fis-
sure in perilous rock [41]. The model of the control fissure is shown
in Figs. 13–15, where d is the width of the fissure tip.
Since the two surfaces of the fissure are under the same pres-
sure, this problem can be viewed as a circle where the range of d
is under freezing pressure.
The vertical displacement of the center of the fissure tip under
freezing pressure is:
2ð1
l2 Þrf R
uz jz¼0 ¼ ð21Þ
E
The expansion of ice in the fissure is:
Duz ¼ kð0
tÞb ¼
ktb ð22Þ
where uz|z=0 = Duz, and the freezing pressure of the control fissure
tip is:

kbtE
rf ¼ ð23Þ
2ð1
l2 ÞR
where k is the coefficient of cubic expansion of ice; b is the width of
the open fissure; t is the freezing temperature; E is the rock elastic-
ity modulus; and l is the Poisson’s ratio of the rock.
The following values were used for a case in Xinjiang:
k = 1.125  10
4/°C, b = 2 mm, t =
48.1 °C, E = 51.344 GPa,
l = 0.28, R = 0.454/2 = 0.227 m, rf=1.328  106 Pa.
In another example, an LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage cav-
ern, with an absence of water, was built in Korea (Fig. 16). The
shrinkage of the rock mass around the caverns induced by low
temperatures may cause tensile failures resulting in the leakage
of liquid and gas [42]. A separation displacement of the main joint
on the excavation’s surfaces was observed during the cooling and
thawing process. This implies that the rock mass surrounding the
cavern displayed elastic hysteresis at the low temperature of

30 °C due to opening and closing of the joints. The largest dis-
placement of the joint was 0.2 mm at the lowest temperature.
The joint separation exhibited a linear increase for both the cooling
and thawing stages except near 0 °C. The ice formation of the
Fig. 13. Crack damage model of a control fissure.
8 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Fig. 14. Space distribution of a control fissure.
Fig. 15. Mechanical analysis of a control fissure.
Fig. 16. Changes in joint separation with changing temperature on the excavation
surface [42].
Fig. 17. Long-term monitoring of FHP [44].
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
resident water inside the joints might have been the reason for the
changes observed around 0 °C.
Li and Wang demonstrated the relationship between tempera-
ture and the ice expansion force of rock pores [43]. Based on the
thermodynamic properties of ice, the principal strain of the ice
caused by the ice’s expansion is as follows:
1
ei ¼ pðTÞð1
2mice Þ ð24Þ
Eice ðTÞ
where ei (i = 1,2,3) is the principal strain in the three directions;
Eice(T) is the ice elasticity modulus, GPa, and Eice(T) = 1.6(1–
0.012T); mice is the Poisson’s ratio of the ice; and p(T) is the ice
expansion force of the rock pores.
The bulk strain under the ice expansion force of the rock pores
is:
3
eV ðTÞ ¼ pðTÞð1
2mice Þ ð25Þ
Eice ðTÞ
According to the definition of the coefficient of the cubic expan-
sion of ice, the bulk strain of ice caused by temperature changes
has the same value as the coefficient of the cubic expansion of ice.
As eV(T)=b(T), and
Eice ðTÞ
pðTÞ ¼ bðTÞ ð26Þ
3ð1
2mice Þ
where b(T) is the coefficient of the cubic expansion of ice, and b(T)
= 0.0003e0.044T based on the experimental results when T =
20 °C
and p(T) = 2.39  105 Pa.
A long-term monitoring and numerical analysis of a natural
rock slope including displacement and temperature was conducted
by Mufundirwa et al. [44]. The thermal correction coefficient was
obtained and ranged from 0.005 mm/°C to 0.007 mm/°C. This indi-
cates that the temperature variation has little or insignificant influ-
ence on the chert rock mass in this field (Fig. 17). Rock expands due
to the freezing of the pore water. The thermal strain due to temper-
ature variation is determined by the thermal expansion coefficient
of the rock. For the field monitoring and numerical analysis in this
study, the rock deformation caused by temperature variation was
considered, but the water in the fracture and the change from
water to ice was not.
 P. Wang, G. Zhou / International Journal of Mining Science and Technology xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Field observations of frost-cracking in a rock wall were
observed with acoustic emissions and provided evidence for
freezing-related stresses [45]. This study indicated that the damage
was related to freezing at negative temperatures. At locations with
meltwater and frozen ice, Acoustic Emission activity was more
intense and increased under subzero temperatures when freezing
occurred.
5. Conclusion
The origin of frost-heaving pressure in joint rock, porous media,
and soil is the expansion due to the phase change of water into ice.
The change in volume when water changes to ice is about 9%. How-
ever, the phase change is constrained by the surrounding material
such as rock and soil. The true volume change may be different
compared to change occurring in a free condition. Based on our
review of the literature, we draw the following conclusions:
(1) Under experimental and field conditions, the volume of frac-
tures and cracks can be observed and monitored. However, a
direct measure of the frost-heaving pressure is difficult. The
main approach consists of obtaining information about the
deformation of the fracture or joint. The frost-heaving pres-
sure is obtained based on the theory of elastic mechanics
and the properties of the surrounding material and ice.
(2) The phase change of water into ice is a complex process that
occurs during freezing. In most simulation studies, the
expansion coefficient of the water changing into ice is
applied to simplify the description of this process. If it is
assumed that the water freezes freely, the linear expansion
coefficient is 0.0015/°C when the lowest freezing tempera-
ture is
20 °C, which can represent the entire volume
change during the freezing process.
(3) Under some conditions, the water is surrounded by rock and
other materials. The volume expansion will be restrained
and the expansion coefficient is different compared to condi-
tions where water freezes freely. The frost heave pressure
can be calculated based on the intensity of the restraining
material. The pressure between the ice and the restraining
surface material can be determined based on the properties
of the ice, including the water-ice phase change, using the
expansion coefficient of ice, which depends on the tempera-
ture. Usually, the coefficient of ice is obtained from the
experimental data.
(4) When water freezes, the movement of the water affects the
frost pressure. If no water moves into or out of the entire
freezing area, the volume expansion is only due to the initial
water in the area. In most situations, such as in soil or joint
rock, the water will move in or out of the material. There-
fore, the volume of the water should be taken into consider-
ation for calculating the expansion coefficient of the fillings
in joint rock. In most cases, the degree to which the water
changes during the freezing process can be determined by
using experimental data or field observations of the joints
in the rock mass.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for financial assistance provided by the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. B14021 and
51304209) and the Science Foundation of Jiangsu (No.
16KJB580014). The first author is grateful to the China Scholarship
Council for providing the opportunity to be a visiting student at
Monash University.
Please cite this article in press as: Wang P, Zhou G. Frost-heaving pressure in geotechnical engineering materials during freezing process. Int J Min Sci
Technol (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmst.2017.06.003
9
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