In order to reveal the evolution law of the entire temperature field during the process of non-removal group pipes freezing, based on a certain shield tunnel end non-removal pipe freezing project in Shanghai, a non-removal PVC group pipes freezing model test was carried out, and the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of its temperature field were systematically investigated. A comparative analysis was also conducted with the traditional steel pipe freezing performance. The results show that the freezing process presents a three-stage characteristic of "rapid cooling - stable phase change - re-cooling", while the natural thawing process successively goes through four stages: "rapid negative temperature rise - stable phase change - rapid positive temperature rise - gradual increase in positive temperature". The "cold energy superposition effect" of the freezing pipe group is significant, and the cooling capacity of the soil on the inner side is approximately one-sixth higher than that on the outer side. The actual freezing efficiency of PVC pipes is higher than the conventional expectation based on the thermal conductivity difference of the pipe material. As the freezing time increases, the gap between the freezing velocity of PVC pipes and that of steel pipes gradually narrows. The freezing velocity of PVC pipes can reach up to 85% of that of steel pipes in the later stage. With the increase of the freezing distance, the freezing velocities of both the steel pipe and the PVC pipe decrease, but the attenuation degree of the steel pipe is more significant. The analysis indicates that: The dominant effect of soil thermal resistance is the main reason why the freezing efficiency of PVC pipes approaches that of steel pipes in the later stage. In the test, the steel pipe exhibits a "strong source steep drop" mode with high thermal conductivity, whereas the PVC pipe tends to a "damping release" mode with low thermal conductivity. On the basis of revealing the evolution law of the temperature field of the pipe group throughout the whole process, this study establishes an evaluation method for freezing efficiency based on the thermal resistance dominant effect and identifies the differentiated heat transfer modes of the two pipe materials. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the optimization design and hazard mitigation of non-removal pipe freezing projects.