Embankment Stability of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway in Permafrost Regions

Abstract

It has been 1 years since the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR), constructed from 21 to 25, was opened to traffic in 26. Experts from around the world, in the field of cold regions, have been paying close attention to embankment stability in permafrost regions of the QTR. Using ground temperature and embankment deformation data obtained by a long-term monitoring system along the QTR in permafrost regions during the years 26–212, the thermal and deformation stability of the embankments are analyzed based on variation of the artificial permafrost table (APT) and the magnitude of settlement, respectively. The results indicate that both the mean annual ground temperature (MAGT) and the types of adopted engineering measures primarily determine the variation of the APT and also dominate the settlement of the embankment. In regard to embankment deformation, most of the embankments of the QTR in the permafrost regions are in a stable state.