Insulated Flexible Pavements for use in Cold Regions Applications

• Project Description: This project aims to identify or develop a cost-effective, light-weight, readily available, and easily installable/constructible material for insulating pavements. This study also aims at developing an insulated pavement design methodology based on the concept of balancing the thermal and mechanical benefits of the developed insulation materials.
• Funding Agency: DOD
• Funding: $688,565
• Abstract: One strategy to mitigate and reduce the impacts of seasonal freeze-thaw on pavements constructed in cold regions is the use of pavement insulation layers. Insulated pavements are pavements that include insulation layers placed with the goal of protecting frost-susceptible unbound pavement layers from the impacts of water freezing and thawing cycles. In general, an insulation pavement layer helps in controlling the heat transfer between the air surrounding the pavement (ambient temperatures) and the pavement layers underneath. This ability to reduce heat transfer results in delaying the freezing and thawing of water within the unbound pavement layers. The goal of the insulated pavements project is to identify cost-effective, light-weight, readily available, and easily installable/constructible materials for insulating pavements. This study also aims at developing an insulated pavement design methodology based on the concept of balancing the thermal and mechanical benefits of the developed insulation materials. The research team at CREATES will custom build large pavement structures (4 ft. by 4 ft. by 2 ft. high) and monitor the impact of using different insulation layers on temperature variation within the pavement structure.