Load Transfer of Piles Embedded in Ice-Poor Frozen Soils and Exposed to Varying Temperature

Abstract

In recent years, cold regions have seen dramatic changes to the once-stable permafrost layers as a result of global warming. Changes in mean annual temperature directly impact the interaction between frozen ground and infrastructure systems such as piles and pipelines. Adfreeze, the controlling mechanism in a frozen soil–structure interface, is temperature dependent and weakens with rising temperature, while its cohesive nature may eventually change to a frictional one as pore ice turns into water. This paper studies the effect of temperature change on the behavior of steel piles in ice-poor soils subjected to pullout loading, especially during the transient melting state. A series of pullout pile load tests were carried out on a model steel pipe pile embedded in frozen sand and exposed to varying temperatures between