Water—Ice Phase Transition in Unsaturated Soil in the Presence of Capillary Pressure

Abstract

The problem of ice formation in unsaturated soil in the presence of pressure gradient and capillary forces is formulated. The complete system of conditions on the crystallization surface is derived. The one-dimensional problem is investigated in the self-similar formulation. The dependence of the amount of the ice formed on the problem parameters is also investigated. It is found that the ice saturation increases as the pressure on the cooling wall that initiates water inflow to the front decreases and also in the regime of more intense cooling. Increase in the pressure leads to water outflow from the front and decrease in the ice saturation.