Stability Study of Crrel Permafrost Tunnel

Huang, Scott L.; Aughenbaugh, N.B.; Wu, Ming‐Chee

doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9410(1986)112:8(777)

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Since excavation, several studies have therefore investigated the creep behavior and strength parameters of the tunnel materials. These studies generally indicated that the ice‐rich frozen silt, through which the tunnel entrance was excavated, was weak compared with the relatively ice‐poor frozen gravel [ Huang et al, ]. Both frozen materials, however, exhibited initially accelerating and subsequent steady state creep that had an exponential sensitivity to temperature, similar to the behavior of clean ice [ Huang et al, ; Johansen et al, ].…”

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies generally indicated that the ice‐rich frozen silt, through which the tunnel entrance was excavated, was weak compared with the relatively ice‐poor frozen gravel [ Huang et al, ]. Both frozen materials, however, exhibited initially accelerating and subsequent steady state creep that had an exponential sensitivity to temperature, similar to the behavior of clean ice [ Huang et al, ; Johansen et al, ]. A key result of the tunnel experiments was that, provided the temperature could be maintained below about −4°C, the frozen soil was sufficiently strong that the tunnel required no artificial structural support [ Pettibone and Waddell , ; Johansen et al, ].…”

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Photograph of the Fox permafrost tunnel outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. View is toward the back of the “gravel room” at the far end of the tunnel (see Huang et al [] for detailed tunnel layout and geology). The path descends at a 12° angle toward a room in frozen gravel and passes through frozen silt, visible in the tunnel wall on the right side, foreground.…”

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deformation of debris-ice mixtures

2014

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Mixtures of rock debris and ice are common in high-latitude and high-altitude environments and are thought to be widespread elsewhere in our solar system. In the form of permafrost soils, glaciers, and rock glaciers, these debris-ice mixtures are often not static but slide and creep, generating many of the landforms and landscapes associated with the cryosphere. In this review, a broad range of field observations, theory, and experimental work relevant to the mechanical interactions between ice and rock debris are evaluated, with emphasis on the temperature and stress regimes common in terrestrial surface and near-surface environments. The first-order variables governing the deformation of debris-ice mixtures in these environments are debris concentration, particle size, temperature, solute concentration (salinity), and stress. A key observation from prior studies, consistent with expectations, is that debris-ice mixtures are usually more resistant to deformation at low temperatures than their pure end-member components. However, at temperatures closer to melting, the growth of unfrozen water films at ice-particle interfaces begins to reduce the strengthening effect and can even lead to profound weakening. Using existing quantitative relationships from theoretical and experimental work in permafrost engineering, ice mechanics, and glaciology combined with theory adapted from metallurgy and materials science, a simple constitutive framework is assembled that is capable of capturing most of the observed dynamics. This framework highlights the competition between the role of debris in impeding ice creep and the mitigating effects of unfrozen water at debris-ice interfaces.

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Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deformation of debris-ice mixtures

2014

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“…It was recognized that this gravel material, with its much higher unit weight than the silt unit to which it is bonded (2080 kg/m 3 for the gravel vs. 1600 kg/m 3 for the silt), would separate and fall in rooms of large roof span. Investigators have repeatedly studied this parting potential through the years, with two investigations warming it to study the temperature dependence on creep and separation of the gravels (Pettibone 1973, Garbeil 1983, Huang 1985and 1986.…”

Section: Gravel Roommentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel

Bjella¹,

Tantillo²,

Weale³

et al. 2008

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Abstract:The Permafrost Tunnel was excavated in frozen silt and consists of a 110-m-long horizontal adit and a 45-m-long winze that extends down to the underlying gravel. Some change has occurred since the excavation was conducted in the mid-1960s, so a team was assembled in the spring of 2006 to assess these changes. Frozen silt deformation was noted in the rear of the adit, and a roof fall of the gravel layer was noted in the room at the bottom of the winze. Both of these were found to be attributable to thermal forcing events and the raising of the overall facility temperature to near-freezing temperatures. Sublimation was also noted throughout the tunnel, but this does not pose a problem for the structural integrity of the facility. The team recommends that the facility temperature be lowered to approximately −5°C, which will decrease creep rates and the weakening of lithologic bonds between soil units. Overall, the facility is safe for continued use by researchers and others.

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“…The most comprehensive data on the structure and properties of Yedoma in Interior Alaska have been obtained from the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel near Fairbanks, which became available to researchers in the mid-1960s. Many papers have been published on the geology and geomorphology of the Tunnel (e.g., Sellmann, 1967;Sellmann, 1972;Hamilton et al, 1988;Shur et al, 2004;Douglas et al, 2011) and engineering properties of sediments (Chester and Frank, 1969;Thompson and Sayles, 1972;Pettibone, 1973;Johansen, et al, 1980;Johansen and Ryer, 1982;Weerdenburg and Morgenstern, 1983;Arcone and Delaney, 1984;Delaney and Arcone, 1984;Huang et al, 1986;Delaney, 1987;Bray, 2008;Douglas and Mellon, 2019). The methods of Tunnel construction have also been described (Chester and Frank, 1969;Dick, 1970;Swinzow, 1970;Linell and Lobacz, 1978;Cysewski et al, 2012;Bjella and Sturm, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yedoma Cryostratigraphy of Recently Excavated Sections of the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel Near Fairbanks, Alaska

et al. 2022

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Recent excavation in the new CRREL Permafrost Tunnel in Fox, Alaska provides a unique opportunity to study properties of Yedoma — late Pleistocene ice- and organic-rich syngenetic permafrost. Yedoma has been described at numerous sites across Interior Alaska, mainly within the Yukon-Tanana upland. The most comprehensive data on the structure and properties of Yedoma in this area have been obtained in the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel near Fairbanks — one of the most accessible large-scale exposures of Yedoma permafrost on Earth, which became available to researchers in the mid-1960s. Expansion of the new ∼4-m-high and ∼4-m-wide linear excavations, started in 2011 and ongoing, exposes an additional 300 m of well-preserved Yedoma and provides access to sediments deposited over the past 40,000 years, which will allow us to quantify rates and patterns of formation of syngenetic permafrost, depositional history and biogeochemical characteristics of Yedoma, and its response to a warmer climate. In this paper, we present results of detailed cryostratigraphic studies in the Tunnel and adjacent area. Data from our study include ground-ice content, the stable water isotope composition of the variety of ground-ice bodies, and radiocarbon age dates. Based on cryostratigraphic mapping of the Tunnel and results of drilling above and inside the Tunnel, six main cryostratigraphic units have been distinguished: 1) active layer; 2) modern intermediate layer (ice-rich silt); 3) relatively ice-poor Yedoma silt reworked by thermal erosion and thermokarst during the Holocene; 4) ice-rich late Pleistocene Yedoma silt with large ice wedges; 5) relatively ice-poor fluvial gravel; and 6) ice-poor bedrock. Our studies reveal significant differences in cryostratigraphy of the new and old CRREL Permafrost Tunnel facilities. Original syngenetic permafrost in the new Tunnel has been better preserved and less affected by erosional events during the period of Yedoma formation, although numerous features (e.g., bodies of thermokarst-cave ice, thaw unconformities, buried gullies) indicate the original Yedoma silt in the recently excavated sections was also reworked to some extent by thermokarst and thermal erosion during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

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Stability Study of Crrel Permafrost Tunnel

Cited by 13 publications

References 3 publications

Deformation of debris-ice mixtures

Deformation of debris-ice mixtures

Evaluation of the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel

Yedoma Cryostratigraphy of Recently Excavated Sections of the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel Near Fairbanks, Alaska

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