Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska
During 1996—1997, an experimental air convection embankment (ACE) was constructed in Fairbanks, Alaska, using very coarse [1- to 6-in (25- to 150-mm)], poorly graded, crushed rock fill material on top of icerich permafrost foundation. The highly permeable ACE installation was designed to test the co...
Published in: | Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/1821-03 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3141/1821-03 |
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crsagepubl:10.3141/1821-03 2024-04-07T07:55:23+00:00 Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska Saboundjian, Steve Goering, Douglas J. 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/1821-03 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3141/1821-03 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board volume 1821, issue 1, page 20-28 ISSN 0361-1981 2169-4052 Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering journal-article 2003 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.3141/1821-03 2024-03-08T03:18:02Z During 1996—1997, an experimental air convection embankment (ACE) was constructed in Fairbanks, Alaska, using very coarse [1- to 6-in (25- to 150-mm)], poorly graded, crushed rock fill material on top of icerich permafrost foundation. The highly permeable ACE installation was designed to test the cooling effectiveness of the ACE concept in an actual roadway project. Using thermistor sensor strings, temperature data were collected from the ACE test section and an adjacent control section. Results showed that the ACE technique can be used to generate a passive cooling effect. This effect manifested as a depression of mean annual temperature at the base of the ACE cross section compared with mean embankment surface temperatures. The data indicated that this thermal offset is on the order of 7°F (Δ = 4°C) for this installation. The measured data also showed that mean annual temperatures are generally near or above the freezing value in the upper portion of the ACE embankment but significantly below freezing at the base. The temperature offset caused a gradual cooling of the foundation soil beneath the embankment with maximum base temperatures that have decreased from more than 40°F (4.4°C) to near freezing during the 5-year measurement period. Within a few more years of operation, it is anticipated that the permafrost table will move up into the base of the ACE cross section, completely eliminating any seasonal thaw in the foundation soil below and thus preventing future subgrade thaw–consolidation. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Alaska SAGE Publications Fairbanks Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1821 1 20 28 |
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Open Polar |
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SAGE Publications |
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crsagepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering |
spellingShingle |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering Saboundjian, Steve Goering, Douglas J. Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
topic_facet |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering |
description |
During 1996—1997, an experimental air convection embankment (ACE) was constructed in Fairbanks, Alaska, using very coarse [1- to 6-in (25- to 150-mm)], poorly graded, crushed rock fill material on top of icerich permafrost foundation. The highly permeable ACE installation was designed to test the cooling effectiveness of the ACE concept in an actual roadway project. Using thermistor sensor strings, temperature data were collected from the ACE test section and an adjacent control section. Results showed that the ACE technique can be used to generate a passive cooling effect. This effect manifested as a depression of mean annual temperature at the base of the ACE cross section compared with mean embankment surface temperatures. The data indicated that this thermal offset is on the order of 7°F (Δ = 4°C) for this installation. The measured data also showed that mean annual temperatures are generally near or above the freezing value in the upper portion of the ACE embankment but significantly below freezing at the base. The temperature offset caused a gradual cooling of the foundation soil beneath the embankment with maximum base temperatures that have decreased from more than 40°F (4.4°C) to near freezing during the 5-year measurement period. Within a few more years of operation, it is anticipated that the permafrost table will move up into the base of the ACE cross section, completely eliminating any seasonal thaw in the foundation soil below and thus preventing future subgrade thaw–consolidation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Saboundjian, Steve Goering, Douglas J. |
author_facet |
Saboundjian, Steve Goering, Douglas J. |
author_sort |
Saboundjian, Steve |
title |
Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
title_short |
Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
title_full |
Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Air Convection Embankment for Roadways: Field Experimental Study in Alaska |
title_sort |
air convection embankment for roadways: field experimental study in alaska |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/1821-03 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3141/1821-03 |
geographic |
Fairbanks |
geographic_facet |
Fairbanks |
genre |
permafrost Alaska |
genre_facet |
permafrost Alaska |
op_source |
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board volume 1821, issue 1, page 20-28 ISSN 0361-1981 2169-4052 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3141/1821-03 |
container_title |
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |
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1821 |
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1 |
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20 |
op_container_end_page |
28 |
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1795672501668282368 |