Mechanical response and damage evaluation of cement-stabilized crushed stone base roads under load and freeze-thaw coupling effects

Cement stabilized crushed stone base material is widely used in pavement structures, but it is prone to damage under complex loads and freeze-thaw cycles, which can lead to pavement failure. Due to insufficient consideration of the behavior of the material under the coupling conditions of freeze-thaw and dynamic loads in engineering, there are deficiencies in the assessment of its freeze-thaw damage mechanism and fatigue life . Based on this, this article constructs a fully controlled load freeze-thaw test system suitable for simulating structures of cement stabilized crushed stone base, and based on this test system, the mechanical response of small-sized pavement structures under load freeze-thaw action is measured. The results indicate that compared to a single load, freeze-thaw cycles and load coupling accelerate the deterioration of pavement structures and produce greater deformation in the crushed stone base. Finally, the load freeze-thaw damage factor was constructed and introduced into the fatigue equation. The life prediction equation for freeze-thaw damage of cement stabilized crushed stone base structure was derived and established, providing a theoretical basis for guiding the engineering application of cement stabilized crushed stone base materials in cold regions. • Developed a load-freezing test system for cement stabilized crushed stone base. • Investigated mechanical response of small pavement structures under freeze-thaw coupling. • Freeze-thaw and load coupling accelerate pavement deterioration and increases deformation. • Introduced a freeze-thaw load damage factor to predict fatigue life of the pavement structure.