Dynamic Impact Behavior and Adiabatic Temperature Rise–Induced Damage Modeling of Ice-Saturated Frozen Soil: A DEM Study

Abstract

Adiabatic temperature rise is a damage mechanism in frozen soil that occurs under impact loading, yet it is rarely incorporated into discrete element method (DEM) modeling frameworks. To address this limitation, a thermal–mechanical parallel-bonded stress corrosion model was developed within the particle flow code (PFC version 6.0) to investigate the mechanical impact response and damage evolution. An adiabatic temperature rise–induced damage variable was defined by statistically quantifying the irrecoverable energy dissipated at interparticle contacts, and its influence on bond degradation was incorporated through an evolution law of the bond radius, enabling the representation of thermally induced damage at the microscale. The proposed model was implemented in a coupled fast Lagrangian analysis of continua (FLAC version 7.0)-PFC framework to simulate split Hopkinson pressure bar tests on ice-saturated frozen soil. The numerical simulations showed good agreement with the experimental results for stress–strain curves and energy–time histories, verifying the validity of the proposed model. Using the validated model, the macro- and micromechanical behaviors of ice-saturated frozen soil under impact loading were systematically examined. The evolution of the crack number, crack propagation rate, and impact damage coefficient was investigated, with the results further indicating that the strain rate exerted a pronounced influence on both the macroscopic response and microscopic damage development. These findings provide valuable insights into the dynamic performance and failure behavior of ice-saturated frozen soil under impact loading.