Water vapor movement in freezing aggregate base materials.

Details

• Creators:
  Rogers, Maile A. ; Guthrie, W. Spencer ; Flerchinger, Gerald N.
• Corporate Creators:
  Brigham Young University. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Soil stabilization
  • Water vapor
  • Moisture content
  • Frost heaving
  • Winter
  • Freeze thaw durability
  • Base course (Pavements)
  • Aggregates
  • Pavement design
• Publication/ Report Number:
  UT-14.04
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Utah
• Corporate Publisher:
  Utah. Dept. of Transportation
• Abstract:
  The objectives of this research were to 1) measure the extent to which water vapor movement results in ; water accumulation in freezing base materials; 2) evaluate the effect of soil stabilization on water vapor movement ; in freezing base materials; 3) determine if the corresponding changes in water content are sufficient to cause frost ; heave during winter; 4) determine if the corresponding changes in water content are sufficient to cause reductions in ; stiffness during spring; 5) evaluate relationships between selected material properties, freezing conditions, and the ; occurrence and impact of water vapor movement; and 6) numerically simulate heat and water movement in selected ; pavement design scenarios. The research involved extensive laboratory and field testing, statistical analyses, and ; numerical modeling. For a pavement section with a base layer underlain by a capillary barrier, water vapor ; movement may be expected to increase the water content of the base layer by 1 to 3 percent during a typical winter ; season in northern Utah, with the effect of stabilization depending on the soil properties. Accumulation of water ; from long-term water vapor movement into a frost-susceptible base material can lead to frost heave of the base layer ; as it approaches saturation but may not cause measurable increases in thaw weakening of the base layer during ; spring. Because water in the base layer cannot drain until nearly reaching positive pore pressures, only non-frostsusceptible ; base materials should be specified for use in cold climates in conjunction with capillary barriers, and the ; base material should be assumed to remain in a saturated condition during the entire service life of the pavement.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  99087
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/27866/dot_27866_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 42.63 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:09eec7a7a9e62ad2305f1aeb2f6853c78904c28ddb15bea7d2a71ea567828c6b