AN INVESTIGATION FOR FREEZING DEPTH OF CONCRETE PAVEMENT

Abstract

 If the base course surface becomes uneven due to freezing of the subgrade, gaps occur between the concrete pavement and the base course. And the life of the pavement is reduced. Therefore, in the design of concrete pavement in snowy cold regions, it is necessary to evaluate the freezing depth appropriately and reflect it in the measures against freezing. In this study, the freezing depth of concrete pavement was measured in situ. Then, the theoretical depth of frost penetration by an existing design method in Japan, and the measured values were compared. Furthermore, as a new method, we investigated a method for estimating the freezing depth using heat balance analysis and heat conduction analysis that consider the albedo of the pavement surface. As a result, a maximum difference of 200 mm or more was found between the theoretical depth of frost penetration by the existing design method and the measured value. Then, the problems of the existing design method were shown. In addition, with the new method, the freezing depth that was almost in agreement with the measured value was obtained. It is considered believe that this new method can contribute to the improvement of the accuracy of the subgrade design of concrete pavement in cold snow regions.