Analysis of the effects of rising temperature for embankments under seismic loads in cold regions

The effect of temperature rising for frozen soil because of dynamic load was investigated by indoor tests. Roadway and railway embankments are always loaded by dynamic loads such as earthquakes and vehicles. Because the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a region where earthquakes occur frequently, it is essential to consider the temperature-rising effect of earthquakes or vehicles on railway and road embankment. In this paper and according to the theories of heat transfer and dynamic equilibrium equations, assuming frozen soil as thermal elastic-viscoplastic material, taking the combination of thermal and mechanical stresses into account, we present the numerical formulae of this dynamic problem, and the computer program of the two-dimensional finite element is written. Using the program, the dynamic response analyses for embankments loaded by earthquake are worked out. Analysis indicated that the temperature-rising effect result from earthquakes for embankment in nonuniform distribution in some small areas, the maximum rising temperature is 0.16 oC for consideration in this paper.