Edmonton Experience with Bottom Ash and Other Insulating Materials for Mitigation of Frost Heave Induced Damage in Pavements

Edmonton, Alberta, has extensive areas of lacustrine silt and clays. Where shallow groundwater is present or deeper cuts are performed for new roadway construction, the silts and clays are weak and saturated, exhibiting severe frost heave in winter along with loss of strength upon thawing. Construction of several roadway projects in these lacustrine silts and clays have used an insulating layer of bottom ash in lieu of polystyrene insulation. Where grades are flat and drainage is poor, it can be a challenge to construct a roadway section bearing on the saturated silts as they quickly lose strength with construction equipment traffic and provide an unstable platform for layout of the insulation sheets. Bottom ash has proven to be an effective stabilization layer in addition to providing insulating properties as it drains well and has angular particle sizes which provide a stable working platform when placed on top of the exposed silt. This paper presents case histories of several roadway projects in Edmonton comparing the design, cost and performance of roadway projects constructed with polystyrene, bottom ash and alternate frost heave mitigation strategies. Thermal modeling was used to evaluate the insulating properties of bottom ash and proposed alternate subgrade concepts. Advantages and limitations of each frost heave mitigation strategy are presented to provide a basis for comparison and to aid in selection for design of new roadway sections in similar environments. Pavement design considerations are also discussed. For the covering abstract of this conference see record control number 201111RT334E.

• Record URL:
  http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/annualconference/tac2011/english/papers_by_title.htm
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Association of Canada (TAC)

  401-1111 Prince of Wales Drive
  Ottawa, Ontario  Canada 
• Authors:
  • FIELD, DA
  • RUBAN, T
  • JOHNSTON, A
  • DIXON, D
  • LEWYCKY, D
• Conference:
  • 2011 CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION OF THE TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION OF CANADA. TRANSPORTATION SUCCESSES: LET'S BUILD ON THEM. 2011 Congress et Exhibition de l'Association des Transports du Canada. Les Succes en Transports: Une Tremplin vers l'Avenir
  • Location: Edmonton , Canada
  • Date: 2011-9-11 to 2011-9-14
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Pagination: 17 p.
• Monograph Title: 2011 Conference and Exhibition of the Transportation Association of Canada - Transportation Successes: Let's Build on Them

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Base course (Pavements); Case studies; Clay; Conferences; Fly ash; Frost damage; Frost protection; Pavements; Silts
• Geographic Terms: Canada
• ITRD Terms: 8018: Canada; 8531: Case study; 4177: Clay; 8525: Conference; 4580: Fly ash; 2960: Frost blanket; 5278: Frost damage; 2955: Pavement; 2961: Roadbase; 4149: Silt
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements; I26: Water Run-off - Freeze-thaw; I33: Other Materials used in Pavement Layers; I42: Soil Mechanics;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01360463
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transportation Association of Canada (TAC)
• Files: ITRD, TAC
• Created Date: Jan 9 2012 12:42PM