Integrating MRI and modeling for Understanding Freeze-Thaw Processes in Saturated Soil and Sand

In this study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to investigate the freezing and thawing process of a series of repacked samples of sand, soil, and sand-soil mixture. The samples were placed in a thermally insulated container inside a vertical bore MRI scanner and cooled by flowing cold gaseous nitrogen through a porous material at the top of the container. Temperatures were monitored in several points above the sample and at the sample surface, and a marker placed on the sample surface was used to measure sample deformation. A 4.7 T magnet was used for MRI and the Multiple-Slice Spin-Echo (MSME) and Zero Echo Time (ZTE) pulse sequences were employed to obtain the images. The contrast between the frozen and unfrozen water in the samples was given by the substantial difference in T1 and T2 relaxation times between the two states. The hydrogen in the frozen water does not produce any signal for both pulse sequences, thus all the signal represent the liquid/unfrozen water. The time-lapse three-dimensional (3D) imaging was performed during the entire course of the experiment with alternating use of the MSME and ZTE imaging techniques. Once the freezing front reached near the bottom of the sample, the thawing process was initiated by switching the inflow of cooling gas to the inflow of nitrogen at room temperature. The small changes in sand structure as a consequence of volumetric ice-water changes were studied using spatiotemporal analysis of the freezing front advancement and frozen water volume. The study detected interesting patterns of preferential thawing on the onset of thawing process in the case of sand. The MSME pulse sequence was successfully used to image the process in the sand, whereas the ZTE was capable of detecting water in the finer soil material. The data obtained in the study were used to develop two-phase ice-water simulation models to interpret the experimental results and better understand the freezing and thawing phenomena.