Indicator Construction of Road Surface Deformation Activity in Cold Regions and Its Relationship with the Distribution and Development of Longitudinal Cracks

Abstract

As a type of road distress in cold areas, longitudinal cracks have a high incidence and cause serious damage. The occurrence of longitudinal cracks is related to the conditions of the subgrade, pavement structure, material properties, and water temperature. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the occurrence mechanism of longitudinal cracks and provide references for the prevention and control of longitudinal cracks. Through the monitoring of vertical deformation, longitudinal crack distribution, and the development of typical roads in cold areas, the discrete characteristics and the variance in the distribution of deformations were analyzed. The construction of an activity index based on the variance of time-series elevation and the standard deviation of elevation change was used to describe the activity level of road sections, longitudinal lines, intervals, and longitudinal deformation. Based on the correlation between vertical deformation and longitudinal cracks on the road surface, the relationships among the activity, condition, distribution, and development characteristics of longitudinal cracks were analyzed. The results indicate that there were significant differences in the deformation activity of the road surface at different times and that the activity was greater during the freezing and thawing periods. The development and distribution characteristics of longitudinal cracks were significantly correlated with activity level. This study can help improve our understanding of the dynamic deformation characteristics of road surfaces under natural conditions and the relationship between transverse distribution differences and longitudinal cracks. It can also provide clarifications and references for the development of the roadbed, pavement structure and materials, the mechanics of the pavement structure, the emergence of distresses, and the laws of development in cold areas.