Numerical Analysis of Temperature Field of Horizontal Ground Freezing for Large-Diameter Tunnelling

The temperature field within a cup-shaped frozen soil wall in tunnel was examined using finite-element analysis. Assuming that the surrounding soil layer was an unfavorable soil layer in terms of thermal parameters, the feasibility of the use of the artificial horizontal ground freezing method in the tunnelling of Nanjing Metro Line 10 was demonstrated. Parametric studies were conducted on various factors affecting the closure time of the frozen soil wall. The closure time was found to be sensitive to the thermal conductivity, volumetric heat capacity, and original temperature of the surrounding soil and insensitive to the latent heat.