The effects of water flow and temperature on thermal regime around a culvert built on permafrost

摘要

Temperature and water flow through a culvert beneath the Alaska Highway near Beaver Creek, Yukon, were measured at hourly intervals between June and October 2013. These data were used to simulate the effect of the culvert on the thermal regime of the road embankment and subjacent permafrost. A 2-D thermal model of the embankment and permafrost was developed with TEMP/W and calibrated using field observations. Empirical relations were obtained between water tem-peratures at the entrance to the culvert, flow into the culvert, and water temperatures inside the structure. Water temper-atures at the entrance and inside the culvert had a linear relation, while water temperatures inside the culvert and water flow were associated by a logarithmic relation. A multiple linear regression was used to summarize these relations. From this relationship, changes in the flow rate and water temperatures at the entrance of the culvert were simulated to obtain pre-dicted water temperatures in the culvert. The temperatures in the culvert were used in the thermal model to determine their effects on the ground thermal regime near the culvert. Variation of ±10%in water flow rate had no impact on the thermal regime underneath the culvert. Variation of water temperature at the entrance of the culvert had a noticeable influence on the thermal regime. A final simulation was conducted without insulation beneath the culvert. The thaw depth was 30 cm with insulation, and 120 cm without insulation, illustrating the importance of insulation to the ground thermal regime.