FROST PENETRATION BELOW HIGHWAY AND AIRFIELD PAVEMENTS

Abstract

FUNDAMENTALS RELATED TO THE PENETRATION OF BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES INTO THE GROUND ARE OUTLINED AND A RATIONAL METHOD OF COMPUTING THE MAXIMUM DEPTH OF FROST PENETRATION BELOW HIGHWAY AND AIR-FIELD PAVEMENTS IS PRESENTED. METHODS FOR MAKING QUICK PRELIMINARY PREDICTIONS OF FROST PENETRATION ARE PRESENTED AS WELL AS DESIGN PROCEDURES BASED ON THERMAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL AND WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE SITE. OF PARTICULAR INTEREST IS THE MODIFIED BERGGREN FORMULA WHICH WAS DERIVED FOR THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS. FURTHERMORE, REFERENCE TO REFINED PROCEDURES, NUMERICAL AND ANALOGUE COMPUTER SOLUTIONS, ARE GIVEN FOR THOSE CASES WHERE ECONOMIC AND ENGINEERING CONSIDERATIONS DICTATE AN EXACT SOLUTION. STATUS OF CURRENT RESEARCH RELATED TO HEAT TRANSFER BETWEEN THE AIR-PAVEMENT INTERFACE BY RADIATION AND CONVECTION-CONDUCTION IS DISCUSSED. /AUTHOR/