Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating Frozen Soil Properties With Electrical Resistivity Measurement And Electro-Magnetic Induction Methods, Rui Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic induction was utilized in the past by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a method of detecting unexploded ordinance, while it has the potential to act as a novel method of investigating frozen soils in cold regions. In this study, we performed lab-scale 1D electrical resistivity measurements under freeze-thaw circumstances on frost-susceptible soils with varied soil properties. We implemented an empirical model from our experiments into a COMSOL finite element model at both laboratory and field scales to simulate soil electrical resistivity response under both short-term and long-term sub-freezing conditions. Dynamic temperature-dependent soil properties, most notably unfrozen …

Design And Analysis Of Flexible Insulated Pavement For Cold Region Applications, Zhuang Zhuo

Theses and Dissertations

Pavements in cold regions suffer from additional deterioration due to the influences of extreme climate on frost-susceptible subgrade layers. To address this problem, one efficient strategy is to add a thermal insulating layer above the frost-susceptible layer. This study aims to evaluate the insulating effects of four materials: XPS boards, tire chips, foamed glass aggregates, and foamed concrete. Large-scale insulated pavement boxes (1.2m×1.2m×0.8m) were constructed to compare the thermal performance of different materials. The thermal performance of each box was evaluated and graded based on indicators related to the short-term temperature decrease and long-term temperature variation.

Experimental results show that …

Laboratory And Full-Scale Pavement Sections Testing For Evaluating Frost Action In Cold Regions, Dorin Papuc

Theses and Dissertations

A comprehensive laboratory testing plan was conducted as part of this project to select two frost-susceptible soils for use in constructing three full-scale test strips. A total of 16 soils were obtained from various suppliers in NJ and were evaluated to determine their frost-susceptibility. The evaluation included conducting sieve analysis, hydrometer analysis, and specific gravity. Using these measures, two soils were selected (namely, Soil #2 and Soil #13) for constructing the test strips. The properties (Atterberg Limits, moisture-density relationships, California bearing ratio (CBR), Resilient Modulus among others) were determined through a laboratory testing plan. In addition, this study involved constructing …

Laboratory Evaluation Of The Impact Of Additives On Asphalt Binders Used In Cold Regions, Neirouz Bouhrira

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research study is to evaluate the effect of additives (polymers, nanomaterials, and softening agents) on rutting, cracking, and fatigue performance of asphalt binders commonly used in cold regions (PG 52-34 and PG 64E-40). In this study, the first phase consisted of using polymers (Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene, Ground-Tire-Rubber) and nanomaterials (TiO2 and SiO2) to modify two asphalt binders used in cold regions (PG52-34 and PG64E-40). The second phase of the study consisted of adding a combination of softening agents (Corn oil or Sylvaroad) with polymers (SBR, Epoxy, and SBS) to PG52-34 asphalt binder. The performance evaluation was conducted using …