Abstract
The deformation characteristics of a raised and widened old Chinese roadway on a soft soil foundation are investigated in this study via finite element numerical simulation. The rules of ground surface settlement, slope foot lateral displacement, and ground surface settlement evolution of the roadbed under three modes (one-time construction of an eight-lane expressway, widened four-lane expressway, and raised/widened four-lane expressway) are compared. The ground surface settlement process of the eight-lane road foundation, which is formed by first widening and then raising the road, is highly complex. The ground surface settlement curve under the old road foundation increases and then decreases. The lateral displacement of the slope foot also interacts with the widening and raising of the eight-lane roadbed foundation. The range of lateral displacement is 70.05, 42.58, 124.81, 104.54 mm. Fifteen years after construction, the total settlement of the raised and widened roadbed is much larger than that of the one built directly. The total settlement values at the center of the two roadbeds are 297.05 and 234.85 mm, respectively. This manuscript provides data support for the reconstruction and expansion of roads on soft soil foundations, for choosing appropriate construction methods to build roads, and for avoiding major road damage, which is of great significance to the construction of road infrastructure in the future.
Highlights
Since the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there have been dramatic changes surrounding the development of cities and the construction of new rural areas
Other scholars [15] have used small-scale centrifuges to examine the influence of construction methods on road widening affecting soft soil foundations
Other of scholars have used small-scale centrifuges to examine the differential settlement new and old subgrade and pavement stress was analyzedthe by influence of construction methods on road widening affecting soft soil foundations
Summary
Since the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, there have been dramatic changes surrounding the development of cities and the construction of new rural areas. New expressways have been developed by rebuilding and extending original roads to satisfy these demands [1] After years of operation, old roadbeds have been consolidated significantly and show significantly different settlement characteristics compared to new roadbeds. The variations in settlement between old and new roadbeds create longitudinal cracks in the widened pavement, which can seriously threaten public transportation safety [2,3,4,5]. El Kamash [6] used a two-dimensional difference numerical method to analyze the widened column-supported embankment on soft soil in the context of roadbed widening. Other scholars [15] have used small-scale centrifuges to examine the influence of construction methods on road widening affecting soft soil foundations.
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