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Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086

15th International scientific conference “Underground Urbanisation as a Prerequisite for

Sustainable Development”

Thermophysical feasibility of railway embankment design on

permafrost when projecting side tracks
Sergey Kudryavtsev a,*, Kazharsky Alexei a, Tatyana Valtseva a, Zhanna Kotenko a,
Elena Goncharova a
a
Far Eastern State Transport University, Khabarovsk, 680021, Russia

Abstract

The paper considers modeling of effective structures of existing railroad embankments in several variants when projecting side
tracks on the Baikal-Amur Mainline of the “Russian Railway”, PLC. The comparison of different factors affecting the
temperature fluctuation in the roadway on a partially thawed permafrost subgrade was carried out by the numerical modeling in a
non-stationary setting.
© 2016
© 2016Published
The Authors. Published
by Elsevier by Elsevier
Ltd. This Ltd.
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 15th International scientific conference “Underground
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Urbanisation
Peer-review as aresponsibility
under Prerequisite of
forthe
Sustainable Development.
scientific committee of the 15th International scientific conference “Underground Urbanisation as a
Prerequisite for Sustainable Development
Keywords: Permafrost, freezing, thawing , numerical simulation, embankment.

1. Introduction

The embankment with a permafrost subgrade on swampy areas has undergone substantial processes of freezing,
thawing and heaving during its 40-year exploitation period. The major defrosting factor for a permafrost subgrade is
a water impact. In case the water runoff is absent, a consequent thawing of the permafrost subgrade takes place that
results in thawing basin. To avoid this effect it is reasonable to make drainage soil fills, rocky cooling structures and
take other analytically proved effective measures.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +9-924-208-28-29.

E-mail address: prn@festu.khv.ru

1877-7058 © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 15th International scientific conference “Underground Urbanisation as a
Prerequisite for Sustainable Development
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.822
 Sergey Kudryavtsev et al. / Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086 1081

Rocky cooling structures installed in the permafrost areas consist of berms and the roadbed faces made of
fractured rocks. The technical characteristics of the fractured rock structures are developed and tested by the Tynda
Cryosolic Station, and they have proved effective for over than 30 years in the given cryological area.
The results of the 30-year survey of the embankment section with the permafrost degradation have shown that the
permafrost line can be traced at different depths depending on the local conditions and the embankment ditches. The
location of the permafrost table should be determined during surveying. If degradation is located at a depth lower
than 10 m, then it is not reasonable to rehabilitate the frozen subgrade.
A thawed weak subgrade needs to be reinforced, and the conditions for consolidation of the thawed soils also
should be created. Depending on the depth of the permafrost degradation the cooling measures to stop thawing and
stabilizing settlements require no less than 3-5 years. During this period the diversion system must provide their
continuous functioning. That is why the installation of cooling systems should be accompanied with reliably
working diversion systems, and if necessary improved, for example the ditches are reinforced with membranes of
waterproofing, or changed for composite troughs. The places of considerable sinkholes with the lateral seepage are
to be provided with impervious screens or additional culverts.
Such conditions suppose an installation of a geotextile or geomembrane separation layer along the toe of the
whole rocky structure. It lessens infiltration of warm atmospheric precipitation through the roadway pebble gravel as
well as extends the life of the rocky structures protecting the roadway from penetration of clay and sandy fractions
into the rocky fill structure.
As the most of the subgrade cross-sections consist of icy sand clay (loam when thawing), it is necessary to make
the rocky berms thicker at the account of the soil of the 4th subsidence category. In this case the berms fulfill not
only a cooling function; they also protect the embankment from creeping. Such berms provide stabilization of soils.

2. The numerical modeling of thermophysical design calculations

The numerical modeling was carried out in the program complex FEM-models developed by the
“Geoconstruction” Design Institute, St.Petersburg, Russia. As a part of this program complex, the “Termoground”
program allows a 3D research of freezing, frost heaving and thawing processes in an annual cycle by the finite
elements numerical modeling.
The program calculations assume the researched area including the design is divided into the finite elements of
the same temperature and soil characteristics.The design model is defined first by the initial and the boundary
conditions, then the thermotechnical task is solved resulting in calculation of temperature and moisture areas for
every time-period.
The initial conditions include the soil temperature defined by depth, while the boundary conditions include the
surface temperature (under the rock fill) defined by time. The upper boundary is affected by a time-variant heat flow
determined by the defined air temperatures and the heat-transfer coefficients.
General equation describing the freezing and thawing processes for a transient thermal regime in a three
dimensional soil space can be expressed as following:

wT § w 2T w 2T w 2T ·
Cth( f ) U Oth( f ) ¨¨ 2  2  2 ¸¸  qV (1)
wt © wx wy wz ¹

where Cth ( f ) - specific heat of soils (frozen or thawed), J/kgK; U - soil consistency, kg/m³; T – temperature, K; t
– time, c; Oth ( f ) - thermal conductivity of soil (frozen and thawed), W/mK; x, y, z – coordinates, m; qv- internal
heat source capacity, W/m³.
The core of a mathematical modeling of thermophysical processes in “Termoground” program is the model of
high ice, thawed and frozen soils offered by N.A. Tsytovich, Y.A. Kronik and V.F. Kiselev.
The major factors determining the defined surface temperatures on the embankment elements and the adjacent
territory are the atmospheric air temperature and the heat exchange conditions between the air and the structure
surface that depend on the wind conditions, solar radiation, vaporation, and others.
1082 Sergey Kudryavtsev et al. / Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086

The calculation value of the defined average monthly air temperature is determined from the formula:

Т пр. Т в  't r  't e (2)

where T в is average monthly air temperature,°С; 'tr and 'te are corrections to average monthly air temperatures
due to solar radiation and evaporation, °С.
The correction to air temperature due to solar radiation ('t) is calculated according to formula:

R
tr (3)
0.073D

where R is monthly sum of radiation balance for the considered element of the surface, kkal/cм2 umonths; D is
surface heat exchange coefficient, kkal/м2 uhu°С, and its empirical-formula dependence is:

D 10 V (4)

where V is wind velocity.

The monthly sums of radiation balance for horizontal surfaces are determined from the formula:

Rо Qо u k  0.42 (5)

where Qo is average monthly sum of total solar radiation striking the horizontal surface, kkal/cм2 umonths; k –
empirical coefficient in terms of the surface reflecting capacity (albedo).
The monthly sums of radiation balance for bevel faces (subgrade embankments) are determined from the
formula:

RE m I
E o  PE Do u k  0.42 (6)

where Io and Do – average monthly sums of direct and diffuse radiations striking the horizontal surface,
kkal/cм2 umonths, the values being taken from the climatological guide; mE̢ nondimensional coefficient in terms
of the bevel face angle to horizon and spatiolization of the face for beam radiation intake; PE ̢ coefficient in terms
of the bevel face angle to the horizon and spatialization of the face for a sky radiation intake that is determined from
the formula:

E
PE cos2 (7)
2

where E̢ angle of the bevel face to the horizon, degrees.

The thermophysiscal characteristics of the roadway and roadbed soils in thawed and frozen states are taken in
accordance with the SP 25.13330.2012 – Permafrost Foundation Engineering Standards.

3. Numerical modeling results

The calculation design is defined first by the initial and the boundary conditions, then the thermotechnical task is
solved resulting in determining the temperature and moisture areas for every time-period.
The initial conditions include the soil temperature defined by depth, while the boundary conditions include the
surface temperature (under the rock fill) defined by time.
 Sergey Kudryavtsev et al. / Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086 1083

Fig. 1 shows a structural model of the embankment cross profile designed for the construction of a second track
on permafrost soils of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, "Russian Railways”, PLC.

roadway
peat
sandy loam

sand pebble gravel

gravel

Fig. 1. Structural model of the embankment cross profile designed for the construction of a second track on permafrost soils of the Baikal-Amur
Mainline, "Russian Railways”, PLC.

Fig. 2 shows the areas of thawed and frozen soils at the background of temperature isolines for October. The
calculated year regards a numerical modeling of freezing –thawing processes during 10 years, and the lateral
seepage is not taken into account.

frozen soil

Fig. 2. Areas of thawed and frozen soils and temperature isolines for October of calculated year. Numerical modeling of freezing –thawing
processes for 10 years (lateral seepage is neglected).

Fig. 3 shows the areas of thawed and frozen soils at the background of temperature isolines for October. The
calculated year regards a numerical modeling of freezing –thawing processes during 10 years, and the lateral
1084 Sergey Kudryavtsev et al. / Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086

seepage is taken into account.

frozen soil

Fig. 3. Areas of thawed and frozen soils and temperature isolines for October of calculated year. Numerical modeling of freezing –thawing
processes for 10 years (lateral seepage is taken into account).

Fig. 4 shows the areas of thawed and frozen soils at the background of temperature isolines for October. The
calculated year regards a numerical modeling of freezing –thawing processes during 10 years. The lateral seepage
and a rock fill installation are taken into account.

frozen soil

Fig. 4. Areas of thawed and frozen soils and temperature isolines for October of calculated year. Numerical modeling of freezing –thawing
processes for 10 years (lateral seepage and rock fill installation are taken into account).

4. Conclusions

x The program complex “FEM-models” having the “Termoground”, a module for non-stationary heat flow
calculation, allows to make calculations of freezing, thawing and frost heaving for seasonally freezing and
permafrost soils.
 Sergey Kudryavtsev et al. / Procedia Engineering 165 (2016) 1080 – 1086 1085

x If the lateral seepage through the embankment roadway and the subgrade takes place, the permafrost
eventually gets thawed, and a thawing basin is formed under the embankment.
x If the lateral seepage is not stopped, some cooling methods such as rock fills or ditches are not effective for
keeping the permafrost in the subgrade.
x When a geomembrane is installed along the rock fill toe, the infiltration of water due to warm precipitation
and ground waters through gravel soils of the roadway and turf soils of the subgrade get reduced or
disappear. This method provides a longer exploitation period of rock fill structures as well as lifts the
permafrost line into the roadway and lessens deformations of the embankment to the accepted values.

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