Frost Bulb Growth with or without Groundwater Flow on a Buried Chilled Alaskan Pipe

When a chilled pipe line is buried in an Alaskan environment, where the pipe fluid temperature is less than that of the surroundings, frost bulb forms due to the groundwater and or moisture migrations from the water table. Besides the concern of pipe realignment due to frost heave, the primary concern is that of the chilled pipe-line upsetting the thermal balance of the streams and adversely affecting the environment for the fish. A simplified thermo-fluid model involving the important effects with a flavour of bond graphs is presented followed by a practical sample problem.