New semi-analytical approach for ice lens heaving during artificial freezing of fine-grained material

The calculation of frost heaving with ice lens formation is still not standard for construction projects using artificial ground freezing(AGF).In fine-grained material,ice lenses may initiate and lead to significant heaving at the ground surface,which should be considered in advance.However,the complex processes during ice lens formation are still not fully understood and difficult to capture in a simple approach.In the past,the semi-analytical approach of Konrad and Morgenstern used one soil constant,the“segregation potential(SP)”.It has been mainly and most successfully applied to the heave calculation of natural-induced soil freezing in cold regions.Its application to AGF has been so far unsuccessful.To solve this,a new semi-analytical approach is presented in this paper.It includes AGF conditions such as bottom-up freezing,temperature gradients to reach great freezing velocities,and a distinction between two freezing states.One is the freezing-up state until a certain frost body thickness is reached(thermal transient state),and the other is a holding phase where the frost body thickness is kept constant(thermal quasi-steady state).To test its ability,the results are applied to another freezing direction,the top-down freezing.The new approach is validated using two different frost-susceptible soils and,in total,50 frost heave tests.In the thermal transient region,where the SP is applicable,the two semi-analytical approaches are compared,showing improved performance of the current method by about 15%.

δ18O,δD and d-excess signatures of ground ice in permafrost in the Beiluhe Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

In this paper, stable isotope （δ18O, δD） investigations were completed in ground ice from a deep borehole in the Beiluhe Basin on northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to unravel the isotopic variations of ground ice and their possible source water. The δ18O and δD of ground ice show distinctive characteristics compared with precipitation and surface water. The near-surface ground ice is highly enriched in heavier isotopes （δ18O and δD）, which were gradually depleted from top to bottom along the profile. It is suggestive of different origin and ice formation process. According to isotopic variations, the ice profile was divided into three sections： the near-surface ground ice at 2.5 m is frozen by the active-layer water which suffered evaporation. It is possible that ground ice between 3 and 4.2 m is recharged by the infiltration of snowmelt. From 5 to 6 m, the ground ice show complex origin and formation processes. Isotopic variations from 6 to 11.1 m and 20.55 m indicate different replenishment water. The calculated slope of freezing line （S=6.4） is larger than the experimental value （5.76）, and is suggestive of complex origin and formation process of ground ice.

Hepatocyte cryopreservation:Is it time to change the strategy?

Liver cell transplantation presents clinical benefit in patients with inborn errors of metabolism as an alternative,or at least as a bridge,to orthotopic liver transplantation.The success of such a therapeutic approach remains limited by the quality of the transplanted cells.Cryopreservation remains the best option for long-term storage of hepatocytes,providing a permanent and sufficient cell supply.However, isolated adult hepatocytes are poorly resistant to such a process,with a significant alteration both at the morphological and functional levels.Hence,the aim of the current review is to discuss the state of the art regarding widely-used hepatocyte cryopreservation protocols,as well as the assays performed to analyse the post-thawing cell quality both in vitro and in vivo. The majority of studies agree upon the poor quality and efficiency of cryopreserved/thawed hepatocytes as compared to freshly isolated hepatocytes.Intracellular ice formation or exposure to hyperosmotic solutionsremains the main phenomenon of cryopreservation process,and its effects on cell quality and cell death induction will be discussed.The increased knowledge and understanding of the cryopreservation process will lead to research strategies to improve the viability and the quality of the cell suspensions after thawing.Such strategies,such as vitrification,will be discussed with respect to their potential to significantly improve the quality of cell suspensions dedicated to liver cell-based therapies.

Research progress and development direction of low-temperature drilling fluid for Antarctic region

By combing the characteristics of drilling in Antarctic region, performance requirements on drilling fluid for Antarctic low temperature conditions, and research progress of low temperature drilling fluid, current problems of the drilling fluid have been sorted out, and the development direction of the drilling fluid has been pointed out. Drilling in the Antarctic region mainly includes drilling in snow, ice and subglacial rock formations, and drilling in Antarctic low temperature conditions will face problems in four aspects:(1) low temperature and large temperature changes in the drilling area;(2) likely well leakage and drillstring-sticking in the snow layer, creep in the ice layer, ice chip gathering jamming in the warm ice layer, well wall collapse in the subglacial rock formations;(3) lack of infrastructure and difficulty in logistical support;(4) fragile environment and low carrying capacity. After years of development, progresses have been made on low-temperature drilling fluids for the Antarctic region. Low-temperature petroleum-based drilling fluid, ethanol/ethylene glycol-based drilling fluid, ester-based drilling fluid and silicone oil-based drilling fluid have been developed. However, these drilling fluids have problems such as insufficient low-temperature tolerance, low environmental performance and weak wellbore stability, etc. In order to meet the performance requirements of drilling fluid under low-temperature conditions in Antarctic region, the working mechanisms of low-temperature drilling fluid must be examined in depth;environment-friendly low-temperature base fluid of drilling fluid and related additives must be developed to prepare environmentally friendly low temperature drilling fluid systems;multi-functional integrated adjustment method for drilling fluid must be worked out to ensure well wall stability and improve cutting-carry capacity when drilling ice formations and ice-rock interlayers;and on-site support operation codes must be established to provide technical support for Antarctic drilling.