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Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions ›› 2021, Vol. 13 ›› Issue (5): 408-418.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2021.21044.

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Field monitoring of differential frost heave in widened highway subgrade

XuFeng Lu,Feng Zhang(),KangWei Tang,DeCheng Feng()   

  1. School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Heilongjiang 150090, Harbin, China
  • Received:2021-05-26 Accepted:2021-09-27 Online:2021-10-31 Published:2021-12-03
  • Contact: Feng Zhang,DeCheng Feng E-mail:zhangf@hit.edu.cn;fengdecheng@hit.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42171128);the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFC1505306);the Key Research and Development Program of Heilongjiang Province(GA21A501)

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Abstract:

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.

Key words: widened subgrade, differential frost heave, field monitoring, distributed optical fiber strain sensing, seasonally frozen region

Figure 1

View of the distressed pavement and excavation of the monitoring section"

Figure 2

Arrangement of temperature, moisture, and displacement sensors"

Figure 3

Arrangement of distributed optical fiber cables"

Table 1

Technical parameters of the sensors in the monitoring system"

Sensor typeModelMeasure rangeAccuracy
Temperature sensorJMT-36B-40 to 110 °C±0.5 °C
Moisture sensorTDR-30%-100%±2%
Displacement sensorJMDL-4720AMaximum elongation 200 mm±0.01 mm

Figure 4

Working principle of BOTDA"

Figure 5

Air temperature change at the monitoring section"

Figure 6

Temperature changes at different depths in the existing subgrade"

Figure 7

Comparison of temperature variations between the new and existing subgrades"

Figure 8

Calibration of TDR-3 moisture sensor"

Figure 9

Variation of volumetric water content with depths in the new and existing subgrades"

Figure 10

Vertical deformation on the subgrade surface during first three freeze-thaw periods after widening"

Figure 11

Variations in the tensile strain obtained from the distributed optical fiber cables"

Figure 12

Development of frozen depth and frost heave during the first freezing period"

Figure 13

Variation of the SP values with the freezing front's distance to the groundwater table"

Table 2

Fitted parameter values for the existing and new subgrades"

ParameterαABD1 (mm)D2 (mm)SP1 (mm2/(d·°C))R2
Existing subgrade0.002-8.42E-72,939.982,629.992,894.2527.260.94
New subgrade0.006-7.64E-62,713.272,598.152,653.3218.010.96

Figure 14

Comparison between measured and predicted results"

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[1] HongYan Ma, Feng Zhang, DeCheng Feng, KangWei Tang. Frost-heave properties of saturated compacted silty clay under one-side freezing condition [J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2017, 9(3): 273-279.
[2] HongYan Ma, Feng Zhang, DeCheng Feng, Bo Lin. Determination of allowable subgrade frost heave with the pavement roughness index in numerical analysis [J]. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions, 2015, 7(5): 587-593.
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