Characterization and impact analysis of freezing and expansion disease of roadbed in seasonal freezing zone: A case of heavy railroads

Abstract

The freezing and expansion diseases of railroad roadbeds are prevalent in areas that experience seasonal freezing. This study aims to investigate the features of the freezing and expansion mechanism of seasonal frozen railroad roadbeds and the effects of the freezing and expansion diseases on the roadbeds. This article presents a study of the Shuo-Huang Heavy Duty Railway. Initially, on-site monitoring tests were conducted to analyze the roadbed temperature, water content and deformations due to freezing. Through these tests, the pattern of development of the roadbed freezing and swelling was understood, and the effect of this on the vibration response of the roadbed was investigated. Subsequently, load-free freezing tests were performed to investigate the freezing and expansion features of the roadbed. Through on-site monitoring, it has been determined that the seasonal freezing layer is approximately 0.5 ​m deep. The depth of the frozen expansion on both sides of the road shows clear differences. The frozen and expansion disease significantly amplifies the vibration acceleration of the roadbed, with a tendency towards low-frequency and high-amplitude vibrations. Through indoor testing, we compared the deformation of frozen specimens and their final freeze and expansion rates at different cold-end temperatures and various initial moisture content levels. We find that the initial moisture content has a greater impact on specimen freezing and expansion. The findings in this paper can be used as a reference for researching and addressing roadbed freezing and expansion problems.