Numerical modeling of reinforced clay beds of logging roads on the effects of frost heaving

Many regions of Russia have complex engineering and geological conditions due to what the structures of logging roads are often exposed to frost heaving forces, which leads to a reduction in their service life. Currently, there are various ways to combat frost heaving. One of these methods is the use of reinforcing geosynthetics. The subject of the research is the pavement of forest roads of a transitional type. The effect of geosynthetics on the magnitude of vertical deformations of the pavement when exposed to frost heaving forces has not been studied well enough, so such a study is an urgent task for improving the performance of forest roads. The aim of the work is to assess the effect of reinforcement of road pavement structures on the impact of frost heaving forces. The paper presents the results of numerical modeling by the finite element method of road pavement operation. The studies were carried out for two options of road pavement. The first option was a classic transitional type road pavement design with a 0.15 m thick crushed stone covering and a 0.20 m thick sand and gravel mix base. The second option differed from the first by the presence of a horizontal geosynthetic interlayer made of woven material at the contact with the subgrade soil. The results of numerical modeling showed that the value of vertical deformation on the road pavement surface from the effect of frost heaving forces for reinforced road pavement is 20.36 % less than for unreinforced road pavement. The obtained results are in good agreement with previously conducted laboratory studies. Tensile stresses in the geosynthetic interlayer were 18.52 kN/m, which is significantly less than the strength of the adopted geosynthetic material. The conducted studies made it possible to obtain the results of the work of reinforced structures of transitional type road pavements of logging roads on the effect of frost heaving.