Versatile technology Ground freezing is ideal for a multitude of construction and environmental applications. It's effective in almost all soil conditions, including running sand, cobbles, peat, clay and bedrock. It provides excellent flexibility for sites with buried utilities, as the freeze pipes can be installed around or beneath existing underground facilities. Soil freezing equipment is small and uncomplicated to install, making it is easy to adapt to difficult or remote sites. Power outages during construction are not a problem either, because frozen ground stays frozen for days to weeks without additional chilling, even in the summer.
Many market forces contribute to the current enthusiasm for ground freezing.
One is that groundwater management and control have become more problematic because of increased regulatory requirements in numerous Western states. Often it is not possible to remove and dispose of large volumes of groundwater, even for temporary construction purposes. Those problems are multiplied if the groundwater is contaminated. Also, construction sites are more congested and complicated than they used to be. Many contractors must work around existing infrastructure, such as tunnels, cables, sewer lines and other utilities, prohibiting the use of conventional shoring with sheet piles.