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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Soil Response in Sub-Freezing Environments: The Frost Heave Model

Abstract:

Damage caused by freezing and thawing ground has been observed in many engineering structures including highways, building foundations, retaining walls, and buried utility lines. Damage to highways in the northern regions of the United States and Canada is becoming economically more significant as wheel loadings, traffic frequency, and costs of pavement structures increase. Over the past sixty years, experimental and theoretical research has been undertaken to examine details of the frost heave phenomena. Topics of research range from phenomenological modeling to the development of complex thermodynamic viscoelastoplasticity models. It is easy to see why practitioners can easily become lost in the details. This study indicates that in spite of the rich history of quality research, a universal frost heave model is yet an elusive goal. A reliable practical approach is needed today more than ever for evaluating the frost susceptibility of soils and for predicting the magnitude of strength reduction, heave, and settlement of soils exposed to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. This paper presents a state-of-the-practice synopsis of generally accepted and historically relevant frost heave theories and modeling concepts that have been proposed to solve the frost heave problem. A generalized approach is described such that practitioners with limited experience in this field can readily grasp the overall concepts.

Source(s):

83rd Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting; Montana State University, Department of Civil Engineering. For an electronic copy of this resource, please direct your request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov.

Date: 2004

Author:

Mokwa

Keywords:


Ice/Frost

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