Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions

Peifeng He; Fujun Niu; Yunhui Huang; Saize Zhang; Chenglong Jiao

doi:10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w

Volume 14 Issue 4

Sep. 2023

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Disaster Risk Science > 2023 > 14(4): 680-696

Peifeng He, Fujun Niu, Yunhui Huang, Saize Zhang, Chenglong Jiao. Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023, 14(4): 680-696. doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w

Citation:

Peifeng He, Fujun Niu, Yunhui Huang, Saize Zhang, Chenglong Jiao. Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023, 14(4): 680-696. doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w

Citation:

Peifeng He, Fujun Niu, Yunhui Huang, Saize Zhang, Chenglong Jiao. Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2023, 14(4): 680-696. doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w

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Distress Characteristics in Embankment-Bridge Transition Section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions

doi: 10.1007/s13753-023-00506-w

1. State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China;
2. South China Institution of Geotechnical Engineering, School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China;
3. School of Civil Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, China

Funds:

This study was financially supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (Grant No. 2019QZKK0905), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA19070504), and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Modern Civil Engineering Technology (2021B1212040003).

Accepted Date: 2023-08-19
Publish Date: 2023-08-28

Abstract

Abstract

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been operating safely for 16 years in the permafrost zone and the railroad subgrade is generally stable by adopting the cooling roadbed techniques. However, settlement caused by the degradation of subgrade permafrost in the embankment-bridge transition sections (EBTS) is one of the most representative and severe distresses. A field survey on 440 bridges (including 880 EBTSs) was carried out employing terrestrial laser scanning and ground-penetrating radar for comprehensively assessing all EBTSs in the permafrost zone. The results show that the types of distresses of EBTSs were differential settlement, upheaval mounds of the protection-cone slopes, subsidence of the protection-cone slopes, surface cracks of the protection cones and longitudinal and transverse dislocation of the wing walls. The occurrence rates of these distresses were 78.93, 3.47, 11.56, 3.36, 21.18 and 4.56%, respectively. The most serious problem was differential settlement, and the average differential settlement amount (ADSA) was 15.3 cm. Furthermore, the relationships between differential settlement and 11 influencing factors were examined. The results indicate that ADSA is greater on the northern side of a bridge than on the southern side and on the sunny slope than on the shady slope. It is also greater in the high-temperature permafrost region than in the low-temperature permafrost region and in the high-ice content area than in the low-ice content area. The EBTSs are more influenced by ice content than by ground temperature. The ADSA increases when the embankment height increases, the particle size of subgrade soil decreases and the surface vegetation cover decreases.
- Distresses,
- Embankment-bridge transition section,
- Permafrost regions,
- Qinghai-Tibet railway

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References(50)

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