Role of Solar Radiation in Thermo-technical Analysis of Roadbed of Railway Track

Abstract The present paper scrutinizes the influence of one of the most important factors – solar radiation – on the results of thermo-technical analysis of a roadbed that form the basis for elaborating anti-heaving measures for traffic arteries in cold regions. There is a description of live experiments involving quantitative assessment of the influence of solar radiation on the change in thermal behavior of a surface of a ballast prism. There were compared experimental data obtained during the calculation accomplished with the use of a complex method that implies application of special software package designed to determine effective radiation of the exposed surface. Based on the results of comparison performed, a conclusion was made that answers the question whether it is consistent to use the above-mentioned method of calculating the temperature correction for solar radiation in order to determine thermal behavior of a surface of the ballast prism in the context of thermo-technical analysis of a railway roadbed. The extent of influence of the main initial data – Albedo and cloudage parameter – on the value of temperature correction in different climatic zones was determined. There was detected the sensitivity of results of calculation of the depth of freezing and thawing of a roadbed to a possible error in setting the temperature correction that determines the upper limit of the thermos-technical problem. A special role of considering the temperature correction when performing thermo-technical analysis was showed.