| Abstract: | In order to systemically summarize and integrate technology of highway construction in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we studied disciplines and mechanisms of formation and development of problems and challenges in highway engineering in high-altitude permafrost regions based on construction experiences for 50 years and on 30 years of research regarding the Qinghai-Tibet and Xikang highways. Embankments, pavements, bridges, and countermeasures for ecosystem protection in permafrost regions were the main study objects. We combined extensive analysis of key problems of engineering stability with interaction between permafrost and highways, theoretical models, indoor tests, and field tests to reveal the interaction between embankments, pavements, bridge piles, and permafrost. In this paper, we propose a series of engineering measures for highway stability, design parameters, key indexes for pavement durability in low temperature, relationships between re-freezing time of bridge-pile foundation and strength development as well as ecosystem recovery in high-latitude cold regions; these eventually form a construction technology package for permafrost regions. |
