Field monitoring of differential frost heave in widened highway subgrade

In cold regions,the widened subgrade could produce uneven frost heave that is detrimental to the pavement.This study investigates the differential frost heave characteristics in a widened subgrade.The field monitoring system mainly consists of temperature,moisture,and displacement sensors and distributed optical fiber cables for strain measurement.The monitoring results show that the cooling period in the subgrade is longer than the warming period.Water content in the subgrade changes significantly within 0−2 m below the subgrade surface but stabilizes within 2−5 m.The maximum frost heave occurs from February to March.In comparison,the existing subgrade has a longer freezing period and larger heave value,caused by the higher density and water content inside.Water in the existing subgrade migrates into the new one after widening,leading to frost heave reduction in the existing subgrade.Simultaneously,the traffic loads result in the consolidation of the new subgrade,thus reducing the heave value in the second year.In the third year,the water supply from the existing subgrade facilitates the frost heave in the new subgrade.The tensile strain distributions obtained by the distributed optical fiber cables show that the maximum differential frost heave occurs at the joint between the existing and new subgrades.The differential frost heave gradually stabilizes after three years.Finally,an improved frost heave prediction model is developed based on the segregation potential concept and monitoring results.

Determination of allowable subgrade frost heave with the pavement roughness index in numerical analysis

Frost heave is an upward swelling of soil during cryogenic conditions in cold regions. It is caused by the accumulation of ice crystals in subgrade soil, which grow upwards when freezing temperatures penetrate into the subgrade. This study establishes the allowable soil subgrade frost heave based on the roughness standard of asphalt pavement in China, and aims to balance the pavement design and frost heave resistance of subgrades in cold regions. We formulated a mechanical model of pavement supported by the boundary conditions of differential frost heave, based on the elastie layered system theory. The differential soil subgrade frost heave was modeled as a sinusoidal function, and the allowable frost heave and the roughness index were modeled as the displacement boundaries for the top and bottom of the pavement structure. Then the allowable frost heave was back-calculated according to the roughness standard. Numerical results show that the allowable frost heave depends on the pavement structure, material properties, the highway grade, and other factors. In order to ensure that the actual soil subgrade frost heave is lower than the allowable frost heave, pavement structures and materials need to be selected and designed carefully. The numerical method proposed here can be applied to establish the frost heave re- sistance of subgrade when the pavement structure and materials are determined.