Thermal-insulated Pavement Design: Exploring the usage of alternative materials – A CREATES Webinar

Please join Dr. Cheng Zhu as he presents the 4th installment of the CREATES Webinar Fall Series.

November 19th, Noon – 1pm

Pavements in cold climate regions undergo extreme weather conditions that affect their performance and ability to withstand traffic loading. During the low temperature season, phase change of water due to frost action can induce volume expansion of subgrade layers causing possible differential heaving in the top pavement layers. On the other hand, the increase in ambient temperature impacts pavement layers because water resulting from ice melting creates higher pore pressure and reduces the load-bearing capacity of these layers by 20 to 120 times. To mitigate this impact, one of the most efficient strategies is to add a thermal insulation layer above the most frost-susceptible layer.  But the use of an insulation layer introduces a new set of concerns and challenges that must be addressed to ensure constructing long-lasting, good-performing pavements.

This webinar will explore the possible usage of different materials for pavement insulation layers and develop a thermally and mechanically balanced design approach for determining adequate thickness of these insulation layers.

Participants will receive 1 Professional Development Hour.