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Field measurements at a road embankment during a winter season in northern Sweden
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Mining and Geotechnical Engineering.ORCID iD: 0009-0006-5705-5485
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Mining and Geotechnical Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4658-6284
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Mining and Geotechnical Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-3031-816X
Luleå University of Technology, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Mining and Geotechnical Engineering.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-1935-1743
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2025 (English)In: Transportation Geotechnics, E-ISSN 2214-3912, Vol. 52, article id 101553Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Understanding the thermal regime of road embankments in cold climates during winter is essential for efficient road design and accurate estimation of maintenance frequencies to reduce freeze-induced damage. In response to the challenging climate conditions in northern Sweden, an experimental field setup was designed to assess the thermal impact of culverts and accumulated snow in ditches on the thermal regime of road embankments during a winter season. This study provides detailed information on the experimental setup, highlights potential challenges from installation phase to data acquisition, and addresses measurement errors. Methods to ensure accuracy and obtain reliable data are also presented. Additionally, some of the obtained measurement results are included in this paper. The results show that snow impacts the thermal regime of the embankment from the onset of accumulation in the ditch, when the snow cover is still thin, until it reaches a depth of 65 cm. Beyond this depth, the soil beneath the snow remains almost unfrozen throughout the winter season. Additionally, the temperature distribution measurements within the embankment indicate that freezing progresses faster near the culvert compared to the rest of the embankment. However, once the culvert ends are insulated by snow cover, the frost depth in the soil near the culvert does not increase significantly, while the rest of the road continues to freeze gradually to greater depths throughout the winter season. The measurement results presented in this study provide researchers with a reliable dataset for validating numerical models in related research areas simulating cold-climate conditions. Additionally, these results enhance the understanding of the thermal regime of road embankments in typical cold climates and offer valuable insights for planning road maintenance and construction in such regions. Furthermore, this study provides essential information for researchers aiming to design and optimize experimental measurement setups in similar investigations.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2025. Vol. 52, article id 101553
Keywords [en]
Road embankment, Thermal regime, Cold climate Culvert, Snow cover
National Category
Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
Research subject
Soil Mechanics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-112363DOI: 10.1016/j.trgeo.2025.101553Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105001555002OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-112363DiVA, id: diva2:1951817
Funder
Swedish Transport Administration
Note

Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-04-14 (u5);

Full text license: CC BY 4.0;

Available from: 2025-04-14 Created: 2025-04-14 Last updated: 2025-04-14Bibliographically approved

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