Crack detection in frozen soils using infrared camera

Frozen soils are encountered on construction site in the polar regions or where artificial frozen ground (AFG) method is used. Thus, efficient ways to monitor the behaviour and potential failure of frozen soils are on demand. The advance in thermographic technology presented an alternative solution as the deformation occurred in frozen soil would generate inter-particle friction heat, and hence increase in temperature. In this research, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on cylindrical frozen soil specimens of three types, namely clay, sand and gravel. During the tests, the surface temperature profiles of the specimens were recorded by an infrared video camera. The thermographic videos were analysed, and the results shows that temperature increase caused by frictional heat can be observed in all three frozen soil specimens. Therefore, such temperature increase can be deemed as an indicator for the potential failure of frozen soil and such method is applicable for monitoring purpose.