A Study on the Quantitative Assessment of Workability When Excavating a Frozen Subbase Course Under Cold Region Conditions

Key Points

• The aim is to quantitatively assess the workability challenges when excavating a frozen subbase course under cold conditions.
• Conducted field excavation tests on frozen subbase materials.
• Evaluated excavation capabilities using different equipment attachments.
• Performed uniaxial compression tests on frozen materials for strength assessment.
• Utilized thermal conductivity analysis to estimate freeze depth based on environmental data.
• Standard buckets showed negligible excavation capability on frozen ground.
• Using breakers allowed only 40% of the expected work rate.
• Uniaxial compression tests revealed frozen materials have strength comparable to soft rock.
• Predicted freeze depths ranged from 78% to 120% of expected values using thermal analysis.