Mechanism and evolution of the pore-air natu-ral convection cooling effect in fractured-rock embankmentsin permafrost regions are studied using a numerical repre-sentation of the non-dimensional governing equations in...Mechanism and evolution of the pore-air natu-ral convection cooling effect in fractured-rock embankmentsin permafrost regions are studied using a numerical repre-sentation of the non-dimensional governing equations in variable permeability porous media. The analyses show that winter-time natural convection in fractured-rock embank-ments begins to occur in the side slope portions and gradu-ally develops from the left and right side slope portions to themiddle portion of embankment. The more significant distor-tion of isotherms from their initial orientations due to heat conduction alone is that the cooling effect of winter-time natural convection on the fractured-rock embankment is stronger. The minimum critical Rayleigh numbers triggering natural convection of the pore-air in the side slope portions and the middle portion of embankment were obtained. The factors of influence on triggering winter-time convection cooling effect in fractured-rock embankments were analyzed. Finally, the assertion that the techniques of the frac-tured-rock revetment and berm are the effective measures to maintain the heat stability of the roadbed in permafrost re-gions is theoretically demonstrated.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China(Grand No.40225001)the Technology Project of West Transportation Construction of the Ministry of Communications of China(Grand No.200231800004).
文摘Mechanism and evolution of the pore-air natu-ral convection cooling effect in fractured-rock embankmentsin permafrost regions are studied using a numerical repre-sentation of the non-dimensional governing equations in variable permeability porous media. The analyses show that winter-time natural convection in fractured-rock embank-ments begins to occur in the side slope portions and gradu-ally develops from the left and right side slope portions to themiddle portion of embankment. The more significant distor-tion of isotherms from their initial orientations due to heat conduction alone is that the cooling effect of winter-time natural convection on the fractured-rock embankment is stronger. The minimum critical Rayleigh numbers triggering natural convection of the pore-air in the side slope portions and the middle portion of embankment were obtained. The factors of influence on triggering winter-time convection cooling effect in fractured-rock embankments were analyzed. Finally, the assertion that the techniques of the frac-tured-rock revetment and berm are the effective measures to maintain the heat stability of the roadbed in permafrost re-gions is theoretically demonstrated.