Embankment Surface Research Articles

Discrete element analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported embankments

A discrete element trapdoor model was established using the MatDEM software, and the effects of different embankment and reinforcement heights on the soil arching effect of embankments under reinforced conditions were investigated by introducing a biaxial geogrid. The outcomes demonstrated that the inclusion of a geosynthetic reinforcement could enhance the load transfer efficacy of the embankment and thereby reduce the differential settlement of the embankment surface. The differential settlement could be reduced by approximately 50 % when the reinforcement height and the pile cap were close. The inclusion of the geosynthetic reinforcement helped reduce the development of the slip surface within the embankment above the reinforcement and prevented the vertical slip surface from continuing to move upwards, thus ensuring that the soil arching effect did not degrade too quickly and continued to play a role. In the case of a low embankment reinforcement, the soil arching effect was largely nonfunctional because of the rapid development of the vertical slip surface, and the load on the embankment in the soft soil was mainly transferred to the piles through the tensioned membrane effect of the geosynthetic reinforcement. For a high embankment with a low reinforcement height, the soil arch structure of the embankment was well maintained, the soil arching effect did not degrade, and the load on the embankment in the upper part of the soft soil was transferred to the piles via the soil arching effect along with the tensioned membrane effect. In the case of a high embankment with a high reinforcement, the reinforcement blocked the vertical slip surface only for the soil above the reinforcement height, whereas the vertical slip surface below the reinforcement height developed in line with that of the same height, when the tensioned membrane effect and soil arching effect worked together in the embankment above the reinforcement height, and the soil arching effect below the reinforcement height degraded and hardly played a role.

ВЫБОР МОДЕЛИ И АРХИТЕКТУРЫ НЕЙРОННОЙ СЕТИ ДЛЯ СИСТЕМЫ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО ЗРЕНИЯ ДЕТЕКЦИИ КОРНЕПЛОДОВ САХАРНОЙ СВЁКЛЫ

The use of a technical vision system, aimed at ensuring greater safety of sugar beet roots during harvesting and storage by analyzing raw materials arriving at factories, is considered among the methods of long-term storage. The process of distribution of trucks at the receiving point of sugar factories is considered by humans in the work. The purpose of the work is to develop a method for detecting sugar beet roots on an image of the surface of a truck embankment at the receiving point of sugar factories. A neural network was chosen as the raw material recognition method due to the extremely diverse nature of the resulting images, which recognition using a threshold transformation cannot cope with. Algorithms (options such as SSD, YOLO, R-CNN) and architectures (options such as AlexNet, VGGNet, GoogleNet, ResNet) of various neural networks are considered. The most suitable neural network for the required tasks has been identified. The optimal size of the database for training has been determined. As a result of training and testing the neural network, the need to create additional filters was identified. Filters have been created and described that clarify the work of the neural network: filtering out “stuck together” objects, objects with low class membership, objects with an impossible area (too small or large), as well as with an aspect ratio of less than 0.2 or more than 5. A neural network capable to find a sufficient number of sugar beet roots in incoming images and to meet the requirements for high-quality functioning of the technical vision system, was trained based on the results of the work performed.

GRAIN TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN METAL SILOS WITH LONG-TERM STORAGE

The temperature of grain in storage is a complex process determined by the interaction of various factors. It is important to establish effective monitoring and management systems to ensure optimal storage conditions and avoid negative consequences such as spontaneous combustion or product spoilage. Grain temperature plays an important role in maintaining its quality during storage. Temperature control is a key element to avoid problems such as spontaneous combustion, fungal and bacterial growth, and to ensure optimal storage conditions. Grain thermometry is an important part of monitoring grain storage and processing conditions in elevators and warehouses. Temperature plays an important role in maintaining quality and avoiding problems such as self-ignition. Various factors can affect the change in grain temperature during storage: climatic conditions, grain moisture, location of thermometers, grain condition, storage period, seasonal changes, level of ventilation, etc. Proper management of these factors is important to maintain grain quality and prevent potential problems such as spontaneous combustion or mold growth. We conducted a study of temperature changes in the formed layers of grain during its storage in metal silos. The influence of natural conditions and the location of silos on the storage of grain was established and recommendations were given for its storage in metal silos. Special attention should be paid to the contact zones with the surface of the grain embankment and the zones adjacent to the walls of the slurry, they are the most sensitive to temperature changes. The air temperature in the silo affects the temperature of the upper layers of the grain mass, which are in direct contact with it. When the ambient temperature rises, the air temperature in the silo rises, because the metal surfaces of the silo have high thermal conductivity.

The Soil-Arching Effect in Pile-Supported Embankments: A Review

Pile-supported embankments are widely used in foundation treatments, owing to their safety, efficient construction, and economy. The soil-arching effect is a key load-transferring mechanism in a pile-supported embankment, and it reduces the even settlement on the embankment surface. In recent years, researchers and engineers have conducted extensive research on the soil-arching phenomenon in pile-supported embankments. This paper reviews relevant studies on the effect of soil arching in pile-supported embankments in order to better understand the mechanism and influencing factors of the distribution of the arching effect. First, the development history of the practice and theory related to pile-supported embankments is discussed. This is followed by a review of theoretical studies on the soil-arching effect, load distribution and soil deformation on pile-supported embankments (with and without geogrid reinforcement), and structures and factors influencing soil arching. The results of these studies are summarized, and finally, topics for future research are suggested, providing references for the design and maintenance of civil infrastructure.

Embankment surface crack pixel-wise identification in UAV images based on a lightweight U-Network with transfer learning

Embankments in challenging environments experience cyclic external influences and loads that render their surfaces susceptible to a range of defects, with cracks particularly menacing. Therefore, accurate and efficient crack identification holds paramount significance for embankment safety. This paper addresses the challenges of low crack recognition rates on complex embankment surfaces and the high training costs associated with deep learning-based crack detection methods. We introduce a novel residual structure as the foundational innovation, followed by developing a streamlined U-shaped network (denoted as U²-Net_Aggregation) that amalgamates multi-scale insights by integrating skip connections. The newly devised U²-Net_Aggregation network demonstrates significant improvements in accuracy, intersection over union (IOU), and F1-score metrics through ablation tests on three distinct crack datasets. Comparisons with commonly employed crack detection methods (FCN, SegNet, U-Net, DeepCrack, and U²-Net) were conducted at the pixel level using an embankment crack dataset. Results unequivocally showcase enhancements in both accuracy and processing speed. To overcome the challenge of a high application threshold resulting from a scarcity of training data specific to embankment cracks, we compile an extensive dataset featuring diverse building crack scenarios, serving as a foundation for transfer learning. Following transfer learning, U2-Net_Aggregation attains recall, IOU, and F1-score values of 87.31%, 81.76%, and 90.06%, respectively. The proposed methodology enables swift and accurate crack detection by directly utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images, offering a novel avenue for embankment crack detection in real-world field scenarios.

Evaluating Pile-Supported Embankment Considering the Soil Anisotropy Effect

It is an economical way to use the pile-supported embankment for the construction of the embankment over soft soil. The combined use of piles and reinforcement effectively reduces the differential settlement of the embankment surface. However, the previous analysis of embankment stress and settlement did not take into account the anisotropy in the embankment filler. In this paper, the UMAT subroutine is developed by using the material subroutine interface in ABAQUS 2016 finite element software. The anisotropy of soil cohesion and friction angle has been incorporated into the Mohr–Coulomb yield criterion so that it can consider the anisotropy of soil. The accuracy of the anisotropic yield criterion in this paper is verified by an ABAQUS source program and related engineering examples. It is found that the anisotropy value of soil cohesion is inversely proportional to the stress ratio on the pile–soil interface while being directly proportional to the tensile stress applied to the geogrid. The results show that the anisotropy of the friction angle decreases with the soil arching effect but increases by 23.1% with the tensile stress on the geogrid. The position of the settlement plane remains relatively constant at 2.3 m as the friction angle anisotropy coefficient increases. These research results provide valuable theoretical guidance for on-site construction design.

TECHNOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF EXPLOSION DUMPS STORAGE ON DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS

The results of theoretical, field and laboratory studies on the assessment of the impact of the storage of low-hazardous waste from the extractive industry on the quality parameters of the soil cover of the adjacent territories, in particular agricultural land, were analyzed. For this, the granulometric composition, the content of organic substances, mineral nitrogen, and the hydrogen index of salt extraction were determined in soil samples that were taken from the body of the dump, at its foot, and on agricultural land. The analysis of the overburden dump site and adjacent territories showed the feasibility of determining the dust load indicators at the stage of forming environmental impact assessment reports of the planned activity, taking into account the duration of the impact. During the preparation of relevant reports on the assessment of the impact on the environment from the implementation of the planned economic activity, the main attention is paid to the issues of handling waste of I-III hazard classes. The long-term impact of surface deflation of overburden dumps is not sufficiently considered. This is due to their intensive self-healing, and the possibility of the development of suffusion processes and phenomena that will contribute to the periodic opening of the embankment surface is almost not taken into account. These aspects can be taken into account during design through special post-monitoring tasks, on the basis of which additional greening of sanitary and protective zones around man-made embankments should be planned. Questions regarding the formation of protective forest strips or other measures aimed at minimizing the dust load on the territories adjacent to the storage sites of overburden rock dumps are actualized in view of the duration of man-made impact. The identification of previously unforeseeable or insufficiently taken into account impacts and the search for appropriate environmental protection solutions is the task of ecologically responsible enterprises, which corresponds to the principles of the modern environmental management system.

Analysis of Factors Affecting Railway Settlement of Embankment Section due to Liquefaction Using 1-g Shaking Table Model Tests

Herein, 1-g shaking table tests were performed under test by changing the embankment height and non-liquefiable layer thickness below the embankment for the same input seismic load. Accelerometers, pore water pressure transducers, and linear variable differential transformers were embedded inside the foundation ground or installed on the embankment surface to measure their responses to shaking. The testing procedure for analyzing the behavior of a two-dimensional embankment-ground system and well-documented experimental data are presented. The results show that the settlement of the railway embankment placed on the liquefiable sand ground due to ground liquefaction is greatly affected by the embankment height and non-liquefaction layer thickness, which determine the degree of liquefaction and lateral flow of the foundation ground. The embankment settlement increased with the embankment height due to the liquefaction of the ground and increased by twice the settlement of the ground without embankment when the embankment height was approximately 20% of the total liquefiable sand layer. Moreover, the settlement was reduced by over 20% compared to that without a layer when the layer thickness was 50% of the embankment height. Furthermore, the settlement decreased to a negligible level when it was approximately 1.5 times the height of the embankment.

Discrepancies of permafrost variations under thermal impacts from highway and railway on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Highway and railway lead to different variations of permafrost underlying their embankments owing to distinct thermal impacts from different embankment surfaces, which affects the designs and choices of engineering approaches to protect permafrost. However, the differences between these permafrost variations underlying highway and railway embankments are unclear. Employing a set of long-term soil temperature data on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, more than ten years of permafrost variations under thermal impacts from the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway have been analyzed and compared. The results show that the responses of permafrost under thermal impacts respectively from the highway and the railway were distinct with discrepancies in the long-term variations of the soil temperatures, the depth of permafrost table, their varying rates, and the characteristics of the sunny-shady effect. Such as, while the permafrost underlying a highway embankment kept warming and deepening its permafrost table, the permafrost underlying a railway embankment could slow the warming or maintain its thermal status or even become cooler. For instance, the permafrost table beneath the sunny slope shoulder of a highway site deepened from 5.94 m in 2003 to 8.98 m in 2020, with an increase of approximately 50%; however, on the contrary, the counterpart of a railway site shallowed from 3.40 m in 2006 to 2.13 m in 2020. Furtherly, the discrepancy of soil temperature deviation shows explicitly that, upon the underlying permafrost, a highway has more thermal impacts than a railway.

Experimental analysis of embankment on soft soil improved with bottom ash columns

Bottom ash is a byproduct formed during the combustion of coal and can be used as an alternative to aggregate and sand as a green material in columns to achieve sustainability in ground improvement. In this study, the bearing capacity performance of highway embankment models constructed on bottom ash columns reinforced soil was investigated. Model tests were carried out with various area replacement ratios (Ar) of 10.91 %, 16.37 % and 21.83 % and column length to diameter ratios (L/D) of 6 and 8. Load cell and three miniature pressure transducers were used for the measurement of vertical stress on the embankment surface, top and base of the column and adjacent soil surrounding the columns. A Pore pressure transducer was employed to record the excess-pore water pressure during the loading test. The stress concentration ratio and column failure modes were investigated for the stress transfer mechanism. The tests results revealed that bottom ash columns, whether floating or end bearing, was most effective in enhancing the ultimate bearing capacity (qult) of improved soil at almost 1.24, 1.39 and 1.63 times and 1.27, 1.42 and 1.83 times that of unreinforced soil for Ar of 10.91 %, 16.37 % and 21.83 % with L/D of 6 and 8, respectively. The stress concentration ratio (SCR) increased with higher Ar and L/D values. The highest improvement ratio was obtained for the model improved with bottom ash columns at Ar = 21.83 % and L/D = 8. The end-bearing bottom ash columns fail by bulging and floating bottom ash columns fail by bulging along with punching at the base. Furthermore, a mathematical expression with R2 = 0.9913 was developed for calculating the approximate qult. The approximate qult are in good agreement with actual qult. The findings of this study resulted in the utilization of bottom ash as a sustainable granular material in the column for the ground improvement underneath embankments.

Regulating the albedo and radiation absorption of engineering surfaces for cooling the embankments in high-altitude permafrost regions

Under the influences of global warming and strong solar radiation, the construction of the wide high-grade roads in high-altitude permafrost regions becomes more challenging. To reach the challenges and further improve the thermal-mechanical stabilities of the permafrost embankment, this study proposes a novel cooling embankment structure based on the heat-reflective coatings. The principle is to reduce and regulate the solar radiation absorption by the permafrost embankment surface, thus improving the temperature field of the embankment and preventing uneven settlement and other freeze-thaw damages of the embankment. First, a theoretical-empirical model is proposed to describe the transfer processes of incident radiations on the pavement and slope surfaces. Based on the model, we carry out a systematic study of the main factors influencing the solar radiation absorption of the embankment surfaces and their variation patterns. By analyzing the calculation results, we propose the regulating schemes of the heat-reflective coatings for the radiation absorption balance of the embankment surfaces. Meanwhile, the solar albedo properties of the heat-reflective coatings under different solar spectral are also studied. The results indicate that the heat-reflective coatings can significantly reduce the solar radiation absorbed by the embankment surfaces. It proves that the cooling embankment structure and albedo regulation schemes proposed in this paper are expected to be applied in practical engineering. Finally, we discuss the shortcomings of the current research and the next research plans.

Analysis of embankment failure mechanism in reservoirs due to rainfall infiltration during heavy rainfall

Many heavy rain disasters have occurred in recent years in Japan. The maintenance of water storage facilities such as dams has become a global issue. The aim is to simulate the failure mechanism of reservoirs in which slip failure occurred on the downstream slope of the embankment due to the heavy rainfall in August 2019 in Japan. This study proposes a simulation method for evaluating embankment stability with respect to the fluctuations in the water level and the rainfall infiltration from the embankment surface using the two-dimensional saturated–unsaturated seepage flow simulation based on the finite element method. Moreover, the safety factors of the slip surface during heavy rain were calculated based on the simulated seepage line. By considering rainfall infiltration, the safety factor of the slip surface decreased significantly, and the occurrence of slip failure in the in-situ position could be reproduced. In conclusion, rainfall infiltration must be considered when evaluating the stability of a reservoir body during heavy rainfall.

Dynamic response of pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment under multi-lane vehicle load.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the response of multi Lane pre disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment under vehicle dynamic load. In this paper, the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone samples whose fractal dimension meets the requirements are obtained through the indoor disintegration test of carbonaceous mudstone. Geotechnical basic tests such as particle analysis experiments, compaction tests, and direct shear tests were carried out on the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone samples, and the physical and mechanical parameters of the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone were obtained. On this basis, a two-way 4-lane pre-disintegration carbonaceous mudstone embankment model of the expressway was established by ABAQUS numerical software. Three different working conditions are set up to study the dynamic response of multi-lane pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment under vehicle load. The results show that the stress change trend on the surface of the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment without vehicles is the same as that on the side with vehicles. Under this condition, the vertical displacement of the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment surface can be as high as 4.33mm, and the vertical displacement change of the embankment in the 0–0.6s phase is basically the same as the stress amplitude distribution. When a traffic jam occurs on one side, the maximum increase in vertical stress on the surface of the embankment on the normal driving side is about 170 kPa compared to condition one, and the vertical displacement at each depth of the embankment has been significantly increased. When a traffic jam occurs on one side, it can significantly increase the vertical stress on the surface of the pre-disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone embankment in this lane. The middle part of the stress time curve of monitoring points 3 and 4 in working condition three is more stable and significant than in working condition one, and the maximum vertical displacement is increased by about 1.70mm. The research results can reference the stability analysis of carbonaceous mudstone embankments and engineering practice.

Mechanical Behavior of Reinforced Embankment with Different Recycling Waste Fillers

The application of construction and demolition (C&D) waste and used tires in geotechnical engineering contributes to the demand of the sustainable development. This study mainly compared the mechanical behavior of pure sand embankment (PSE), C&D material embankment (CDME), sand-tire shreds mixture embankment (STSME) through a scale model test. Effects of tire shreds content, the first layer geocell reinforcement burial depth, geocell reinforcement depth and compaction degree on the bearing capacity of embankments were investigated. Moreover, embankment load-settlement ratio, the reinforced bearing capacity ratio, the bearing capacity improvement factor (IF), the embankment surface deformation, and the vertical earth pressure distribution inside the embankment were discussed. Results indicate that both C&D material fillers and sand-tire shreds mixture can improve the bearing capacity and stability of embankment slopes. However, C&D material is better than sand-tire shreds mixture in the improvement. The optimum value of tire shreds content is 5%. The reinforcement effect of geocell decreases with the increase of reinforcement depth. With the increase of the buried depth of the first layer, it first increases and then decreases. With the increase of compaction degree increases. The minimum earth pressure appears near the slope. The bearing capacity of CDME is greater than STSME. The ultimate bearing capacity of CDME under the action of the geocell is twice that of the unreinforced embankment.

Study on the solar albedo characteristics of pavement and embankment slope surfaces in permafrost regions

Roadways built in permafrost regions are more sensitive to the thermal disturbance caused by the natural environment and engineering construction activities. The construction of the embankment changes the albedo characteristics of the natural ground surfaces. Dark asphalt pavement absorbs a huge amount of solar radiation into the permafrost embankment, which leads to the thawing of frozen soil and freezing-thawing diseases of the embankment. Besides, the south-facing slope of the high-fill embankment is exposed to longer and stronger insolation than the north-facing slope annually. It gives rise to the thermal asymmetrical problem and differential settlement across the embankment. To solve above problems and further improve the thermal stability of permafrost embankment, we study the solar albedo characteristics of pavement and embankment slope surfaces in permafrost regions. In this study, an albedo measurement method is proposed for both pavement surface and slope surfaces. The method is validated by in-situ experiments and compared with traditional albedo measurement methods. Meanwhile, we measure the albedo values of the permafrost embankment surfaces along the G109 Highway in high latitude permafrost regions by using the proposed method. The results show that these embankment surfaces absorb a lot of solar radiation for a long time due to the low albedo. Comparing the measured results and remote sensing data, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of the albedo characteristics of permafrost embankment surfaces. Based on these findings, a preliminary solution is put forward to improve the thermal stability of permafrost embankment and decrease embankment diseases.

Weingarten Isotropic Embankment Surfaces According to Adapted Frame

Weingarten Isotropic Embankment Surfaces According to Adapted Frame

Effect of Different Reinforced Load Transfer Platforms on Geosynthetic-Reinforced Pile-Supported Embankment: Centrifuge Model Test

Geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported (GRPS) embankment has been widely utilized in the railways and highways subgrade of soft clay area. The load transfer platform (LTP), consisting of sand layers and one or more layers of geosynthetic, is constantly used at the base of embankment to increase the load transfer to piles and reduce the differential settlement of embankment surface. However, the effect of different reinforced LTPs on the performances of GRPS embankment has not been fully understood. Eight centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the effect of five influence factors on deformation and load transfer of embankment, and tensile force of geogrid: placing geogrid or not, the number of geogrid layers, geogrid reinforced position, geogrid stiffness, wrapped-back geogrid setting in LTP. The results showed that the wrapped-back geogrid setting in the LTP was equivalent to anchoring the geogrid at the slope toe of embankment, which strengthened the reinforcement-soil interaction and restricted the pull-out displacement of geogrid to enhance the stiffness for LTP. The LTP reinforced with stiffer geogrid or multi-layer geogrid contributed to increase the stability and load transfer of embankment due to the increase of the integrity stiffness for LTP. When the geogrid was set at the middle of LTP, the performances of the GRPS embankment was enhanced due to the more interfaces between the geogrid and soil to improve the integrity stiffness of the LTP. The two-layer geogrid reinforced in the LTP could be the best choice to enhance the performance of the GRPS embankment under the comprehensive consideration of the performance and economy. The five setting ways of the reinforcement in LTP increased the integrity stiffness of LTP, which provided more methods to enhance the performances of the GRPS embankment.

Spring-Based Trapdoor Tests Investigating Soil Arching Stability in Embankment Fill under Localized Surface Loading

Pile-supported (PS) embankments have been used increasingly to support highways and railways on soft subsoils. In addition to the self-weight of the embankment, this embankment system is often subjected to surface localized loading, such as traffic loading. In this embankment system, soil arching is a key load transfer mechanism. Stability of soil arching under localized surface loading is important because traffic loading applied on the embankment surface can transfer onto and between pile heads and affect the degree of mobilization and degradation of soil arching. Conventional trapdoor systems have a rigid trapdoor, control its displacement manually/automatically, and cannot represent load-induced subsoil settlement below the embankment. This study utilized a trapdoor supported on low-stiffness or high-stiffness compression springs that moved under the load above the trapdoor (called a spring-based trapdoor) to evaluate the effects of continuous trapdoor displacement on the soil arching stability under static footing loading. To investigate the trapdoor rigidity effect, a trapdoor consisting of three segments (called a flexible trapdoor) was utilized in this study as well. The trapdoor test results showed that soil arching was mobilized during fill placement as the fill height and the trapdoor displacement increased. Subsequently, under static footing loading, the degree of soil arching increased at a low applied pressure; however, it degraded under higher footing loading that caused a larger trapdoor displacement. The high-stiffness trapdoor increased the degradation pressure required to eliminate soil arching even though it reduced the degree of soil arching under a low applied pressure compared with the low-stiffness trapdoor. The flexible trapdoor resulted in a uniform stress distribution on the trapdoor but reduced the total load transferred to the supports. The conventional trapdoor resulted in a lower soil arching ratio compared with the spring-based trapdoor during the soil arching mobilization, but had a higher soil arching degradation rate than the spring-based trapdoor due to continuous soil movement.

Long-term thermal stability and settlement of heat pipe-protected highway embankment in warm permafrost regions

Warm permafrost is a challenging geological material for infrastructure engineering. This study presents the observed damage, ground temperature, and settlement at varying depths from three-year continuous monitoring of two selected highway embankment segments along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway in warm permafrost areas, including one conventional embankment and the other with heat pipes on the sunny slope side. Field monitoring data reveal that the embankment settlement mainly results from thaw consolidation of warm permafrost, and the permafrost table beneath a conventional embankment is concave-shaped due to the polythermal effects of asphalt pavement. In contrast, the permafrost table underneath the embankment equipped with heat pipes on the sunny side is convex-shaped due to heat pipes' cooling effects. The different causes of longitudinal cracks on the two embankment surfaces were uncovered based on field observed data. Results of coupled hydro-thermal-mechanical model simulation considering climate warming show that while the configurations of heat pipes on both sides of the embankment can generally ensure the long-term thermal stability and limit the differential settlement across the road surface, the one with slanted heat pipes delivers the best performance and is recommended for future applications. Results from this study, including field monitoring data and recommended heat pipe configuration, will be of value for the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure in warm permafrost regions.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION FOR INFLUENCE OF SLOPE RATE ON SNOW DISTRIBUTION AROUND THE EMBANKMENT

Road snowdrift disaster is an important disaster type in snow disaster areas, which poses a great threat to transportation. This paper takes the two-dimensional embankment as the research object, and uses Fluent software to simulate the flow field of embankments under different slopes, so that to obtain the wind speed and wall shear velocity around embankment under different slopes. And then the influence of slope on snow distribution around embankment is analyzed according to the mechanism of snow particle motion. The results show that the flow field around the embankment is closely related with the shear velocity of the embankment surface; the gentle upwind slope can reduce the snow around the embankment. It is recommended to build roads on the embankment with a small slope in areas with frequent snowdrift disaster. The research results can provide a reference for the construction of embankment.