Effects of temperature on the dynamic response of airfield runway subgrade in cold regions

Abstract

Subject to the coupling effect of climate and aircraft loads, different diseases of runway in cold regions have frequently occurred after long-term operation. To understand the causes of such diseases, finite element simulation and laboratory-scaled model tests were conducted. The results indicate that as the environment temperature decreased to −60°C, the landing impact load of aircraft could be magnified 1.7 times. Thus, the controlled depth for the required reinforcement construction quality of runway subgrade in cold areas should be increased to 3 m. The fundamental frequency of subgrade (f) was found to be sensitive to the coupling effect than the amplitude of the acceleration (a_max) and of the acceleration energy spectrum function (PSD_max). This can supplement the dynamic difference indicated by a_max and PSD_max. The Boltzmann model was successfully applied to the vibration analysis of runway subgrade (R² > 0.9). The findings can facilitate the management and maintenance decisions for runways.

KEYWORDS:

• Engineering in cold regions
• runway subgrade
• coupling thermal-mechanical effect
• scaled model test
• energy spectrum analysis
• Boltzmann model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Leiyang Pei: Investigation, Experiment, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Chengchao Guo: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. Guoguang Liu: Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition. Lei Qin: Investigation, Experiment, Data curation. Xuanxuan Chu: Investigation, Experiment, Supervision. Weihong Yan: Investigation, Supervision, Funding acquisition. Danze Wu: Investigation, Experiment, Data curation. Genye Wang: Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [No. 2020YFB1600102; No. 2023YFB2604005]; Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport Phase III Expansion Project [No. NFXQGZ-033]; Centralized Basic Operating Expenses Program of Civil Aviation University of China [No. 3122023PY03]; Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Construction and Industrialization, CAAC [No. MHJGKFKT-02], and the authors are also grateful to editors and reviewers for their helpful advice and comments.