Abstract
The stability and service performance of ordinary railway subgrade are often challenged by frost heave distresses in seasonally frozen regions. This paper analysis the moisture-heat process and frost heave characteristics of the subgrade of Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) using on-site monitoring data. The development mechanism of deep frost heave in ordinary railway is discussed, and combined with numerical simulation, the mechanism of significant lateral differential frost heave of ordinary railway subgrade is also revealed. The monitoring results show that the maximum freezing depth of the subgrade is 1.88 m, and the maximum frost heave is 32 mm. The freezing cycle can be divided into four stages by freezing rate and thawing rate: repeated freezing-thawing cycles, rapid freezing stage, slow freezing stage, and bidirectional thawing stage. The freezing rate of 0.53 cm/d and high moisture content of subgrade in the slow freezing stage are the main reasons for the development of deep frost heave in ordinary railway subgrade. The existence of ballast layer is the primary factor that causes the difference of initial freezing time, moisture-heat change and distribution at different positions of ordinary railway subgrade, which ultimately results in the lateral differential frost heave exceeding the allowable value of 15 mm.
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