Frost jacking characteristics of screw piles in seasonally frozen regions based on thermo-mechanical simulations

Abstract In this paper, a thermo-mechanical model is proposed to simulate the frost jacking behaviour of screw piles subjected to frost heave, and the results are further validated by laboratory tests. The calculated results show that large multi-helix piles yield the least frost jacking when the freezing depth reaches half the embedment depth of pile. Based on the modified cylindrical shear method and individual bearing method, the optimal geometric parameters of screw piles are determined by a series of numerical calculations. The numerical approach is expected to serve as a reference for designing effective and economical pile types in practice.