Effect of fluid flow on freezing and thawing of saturated porous media

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1978
• Subjects: Arctic; permafrost
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1978.0187; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspa.1978.0187

In this paper we obtain an analytical solution that describes the effect of seepage flow on the freezing and thawing of saturated porous media. This solution is obtained by using techniques from complex variable theory. Results are presented to show how fluid flow effects the shape and growth rates of frozen regions embedded in the porous media. The effect of a heat sink is included for both single and multiple frozen regions. Examples are presented to illustrate the effect of this ground water flow on the thawing of arctic permafrost with and without the presence of perma­frost protection devices.