FPInnovations, in cooperation with Alberta Transportation and the Laval University i3C Chair, undertook a review of the starting threshold for initiating winter weight hauling in Alberta. The objective of this project was to conduct an engineering analysis of freezing pavements to determine the minimum frost depth at which log hauling at winter weight premiums (WWP) in Alberta could start without compromising pavement service life. The report describes literature on freezing pavement engineering, Canadian winter weight policies, a controlled trafficking simulation of an instrumented pavement as it was frozen, and subsequent modeling to valiidate results and extrapolate results ot a wider range of pavement structures. It was recommended that the current 1.0 m starting frost depth threshold be reduced to a depth of 700 mm.
This guide provides users with easy to use charts to assist with the design of geosynthetic-reinforced unpaved roads over weak soils. It permits the estimation of key input parameters through simple procedures and judgment based on experience. Further optimization of designs may however be possible through detailed calculations and lab testing which are encouraged
whenever feasible.
Ce guide propose des graphiques simples d’utilisation afin d’aider les utilisateurs dans la conception de routes non revêtues renforcées avec des géosynthétiques. Il permet d’estimer les principaux paramètres d’entrée à travers des procédures
simples et le recours au jugement découlant de l’expérience. Lorsque possible, le recours à des essais en laboratoire est préconisé pour l’obtention de certaines données d’entrée.
FPInnovations, with funding from the Canadian Forest Service, is currently investigating the feasibility and form of standardized road - pipeline crossings. FPInnovations and Access Pipeline Inc. jointly conducted a field trial to evaluate the structural responses from heavy vehicle traffic to large (National) pipeline segments buried within a native earth road. This field trial was intended to contribute to the general knowledge of the industry, and more specifically to document the structural performance of large diameter, stiff-walled (pipeline) pipe buried under roads that are crossed by heavy equipment.
Canadian regulators utilize the ESAL concept for vehicle impact evaluations and(or) pavement design. Unfortunately, TAC’s ESAL equations do not account for tire size and, consequently, overestimate steering axle impacts when those axles are equipped with widebase steering tires. Many new vehicles proposed for use in Canada feature tridem-drive tractors and heavily loaded steering axles—these heavy loads necessitate the use of widebase steering tires. In order to optimize high efficiency truck configurations in Canada, therefore, accurate estimates of widebase steering tire ESALs are needed. This work describes a methodology to estimate ESALs for widebase steering tires. These ESAL equations were used to justify an increase in steering axle weights for B.C. 9-axle log B-trains.
