Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions
Abstract The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been operating safely for 16 years in the permafrost zone and the railroad subgrade is generally stable by adopting the cooling roadbed techniques. However, settlement caused by the degradation of subgrade permafrost in the embankment-bridge transition sections...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2023-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Disaster Risk Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w |
| _version_ | 1797682585673924608 |
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| author | Peifeng He Fujun Niu Yunhui Huang Saize Zhang Chenglong Jiao |
| author_facet | Peifeng He Fujun Niu Yunhui Huang Saize Zhang Chenglong Jiao |
| author_sort | Peifeng He |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been operating safely for 16 years in the permafrost zone and the railroad subgrade is generally stable by adopting the cooling roadbed techniques. However, settlement caused by the degradation of subgrade permafrost in the embankment-bridge transition sections (EBTS) is one of the most representative and severe distresses. A field survey on 440 bridges (including 880 EBTSs) was carried out employing terrestrial laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar for comprehensively assessing all EBTSs in the permafrost zone. The results show that the types of distresses of EBTSs were differential settlement, upheaval mounds of the protection-cone slopes, subsidence of the protection-cone slopes, surface cracks of the protection cones and longitudinal and transverse dislocation of the wing walls. The occurrence rates of these distresses were 78.93, 3.47, 11.56, 3.36, 21.18 and 4.56%, respectively. The most serious problem was differential settlement, and the average differential settlement amount (ADSA) was 15.3 cm. Furthermore, the relationships between differential settlement and 11 influencing factors were examined. The results indicate that ADSA is greater on the northern side of a bridge than on the southern side and on the sunny slope than on the shady slope. It is also greater in the high-temperature permafrost region than in the low-temperature permafrost region and in the high-ice content area than in the low-ice content area. The EBTSs are more influenced by ice content than by ground temperature. The ADSA increases when the embankment height increases, the particle size of subgrade soil decreases and the surface vegetation cover decreases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:02:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-301965dae8824ea4bcc9246fe4f74781 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-0055 2192-6395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T00:02:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Disaster Risk Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-301965dae8824ea4bcc9246fe4f747812023-09-17T11:05:33ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of Disaster Risk Science2095-00552192-63952023-08-0114468069610.1007/s13753-023-00506-wDistress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost RegionsPeifeng He0Fujun Niu1Yunhui Huang2Saize Zhang3Chenglong Jiao4State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of TechnologySchool of Civil Engineering, Changsha University of Science and TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of TechnologyAbstract The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been operating safely for 16 years in the permafrost zone and the railroad subgrade is generally stable by adopting the cooling roadbed techniques. However, settlement caused by the degradation of subgrade permafrost in the embankment-bridge transition sections (EBTS) is one of the most representative and severe distresses. A field survey on 440 bridges (including 880 EBTSs) was carried out employing terrestrial laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar for comprehensively assessing all EBTSs in the permafrost zone. The results show that the types of distresses of EBTSs were differential settlement, upheaval mounds of the protection-cone slopes, subsidence of the protection-cone slopes, surface cracks of the protection cones and longitudinal and transverse dislocation of the wing walls. The occurrence rates of these distresses were 78.93, 3.47, 11.56, 3.36, 21.18 and 4.56%, respectively. The most serious problem was differential settlement, and the average differential settlement amount (ADSA) was 15.3 cm. Furthermore, the relationships between differential settlement and 11 influencing factors were examined. The results indicate that ADSA is greater on the northern side of a bridge than on the southern side and on the sunny slope than on the shady slope. It is also greater in the high-temperature permafrost region than in the low-temperature permafrost region and in the high-ice content area than in the low-ice content area. The EBTSs are more influenced by ice content than by ground temperature. The ADSA increases when the embankment height increases, the particle size of subgrade soil decreases and the surface vegetation cover decreases.https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-023-00506-wDistressesEmbankment-bridge transition sectionPermafrost regionsQinghai-Tibet railway |
| spellingShingle | Peifeng He Fujun Niu Yunhui Huang Saize Zhang Chenglong Jiao Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions International Journal of Disaster Risk Science Distresses Embankment-bridge transition section Permafrost regions Qinghai-Tibet railway |
| title | Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions |
| title_full | Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions |
| title_fullStr | Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions |
| title_short | Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions |
| title_sort | distress characteristics in embankment bridge transition section of the qinghai tibet railway in permafrost regions |
| topic | Distresses Embankment-bridge transition section Permafrost regions Qinghai-Tibet railway |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w |
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