Soil freezing is known by several names such as soil freezing, ground freezing or nitrogen freezing. It is primarily used to stabilise and seal the soil as a temporary measure. Soil freezing is mainly used where, due to local conditions or unfavourable soil conditions, conventional soil consolidation and sealing methods have little or no success. Soil freezing is therefore a safety measure to prevent soil or water ingress and the resulting damage. The method is mainly used for

• Support and sealing measures
• Excavation of building pits
• Tunnelling
• Tunnelling and special civil engineering,
• Excavation and removal of contaminated soils (remediation of contaminated sites)
• Construction in existing buildings
• Structures with complex framework conditions
• Accidents and emergencies
• Complex stabilisation measures that are difficult to access locally

are used. It is a very fast, chemically neutral and environmentally friendly process in which the frozen ground temporarily serves as a sealing or static element, depending on the requirements. Liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) or brine (-40 °C) is used as the refrigerant. For construction sites where a project planning period of more than 6 months is estimated, a combination of both methods (ground freezing with liquid nitrogen and brine freezing) can be useful.