00799050

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1709-12

http://scholar.google.com...herd&publication_year=2000

In 1995 the Montana Department of Transportation initiated a study on the seasonal variation of pavement strength, with an emphasis on spring thawing. Ten sites representing a cross section of Montana subgrade soil and pavement structure were selected and instrumented with moisture and temperature sensors. Field measurements of surface deflections, moistures, and temperatures were initiated in autumn 1996 and continued through the spring of 1997. The moisture and deflection data were used to determine the thaw-weakening characteristics of the sites and to develop subgrade modulus values for use in the future design of pavement structures using AASHTO mechanistic design methodology. Results indicated that in several areas not only the subgrade but also the base course layers were prone to thaw weakening. The length of thaw weakening varied from 4 days to a 3-week period. In addition, it was found that in almost all cases the subsurface moisture content began to increase rapidly when the subsurface temperature rose to around -2 deg C during the spring. In some cases it was found that when the subsurface temperature finally warmed to 0 deg C, the moisture content had reached its prefreeze value. This research provides a general description of the test sites and measurements; it quantifies the effects of thaw weakening on typical roads in Montana based on deflection and surface and subsurface moisture and temperature.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1709, Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements 2000.

English

p. 98-107

2000

Transportation Research Record

0309066883

Figures (7) ; References (3) ; Tables (6)

Base course (Pavements); Deflection; Field studies; Modulus of resilience; Moisture content; Pavement performance; Seasonally frozen ground; Subgrade (Pavements); Temperature sensors; Thaw

Spring thaw; Thaw weakening

Montana

Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Pavements; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I23: Properties of Road Surfaces

TRIS, TRB

Sep 28 2000 12:00AM

• ASSESSMENT OF FALLING WEIGHT DEFLECTOMETER DATA FOR STABILIZED FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
• CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROVIDING SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE IN JOINTED CONCRETE PAVEMENTS
• DEGREE AND EXTENT OF WETTING DUE TO CAPILLARY RISE IN SOILS
• DRAINAGE OF PAVEMENT BASE MATERIAL: DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ISSUES
• EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE FEATURES BASED ON DESIGN ADEQUACY
• FIELD EVALUATION OF GEOCELL USE IN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
• FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF FATIGUE LIFETIME IN PAVEMENTS
• FINITE-LAYER APPROACH TO PAVEMENT RESPONSE EVALUATION
• PAVEMENT DISTRESS AND ROADWAY DAMAGE CAUSED BY SUBSURFACE MOISTURE AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES: CASE HISTORIES FROM ALASKA
• STONE INTERLAYER PAVEMENT DESIGN
• THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF SPATIAL SOIL PROPERTIES VIA ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS
• TUBE SUCTION TEST FOR EVALUATING AGGREGATE BASE MATERIALS IN FROST- AND MOISTURE-SUSCEPTIBLE ENVIRONMENTS
• USING A MULTISEGMENT TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY PROBE TO DETERMINE FROST DEPTH IN PAVEMENT SYSTEMS