Freezing and Thawing Processes of Highways in Kazakhstan

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors,

First of all, I want to ask if this is a review or an article? Because at the beginning of the article you write that it is a review, but the article presents the results of your research.

Second, there are no keywords.

References should be numbered in order of appearance and indicated by a numeral or numerals in square brackets—e.g., [1] or [2,3], or [4–6]. See the end of the document for further details on references.

Please find my comments:

1. Line 74 The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology.... The purpose of the research should be in the introductory part.

2. Line 84 Figure 1. (a) External view of the measuring.... It is necessary to explain all the layers in Figure 1 b).

3. Line 89 Table 1. No table name.

4. Table 1. h5=90x What does x mean? Explain what it means: Asphalt concrete, type B, Mixture C-4.

5. Figure 2. Time from 27.10 to 15.11, hour - It is not clear what this inscription means. 

6. What equipment and manufacturer was used for the research?

7. Line 98 is written: period from 27.10 to 15.11 2021. Line 106 is written: period from 27.10.2021 to 5.11.2021 compared... Is the period written correctly?

8. See how formulas are written and numbered in the Applied Sciences template.

9. Institutional Review Board Statement, Informed Consent Statement and Acknowledgments - written off from the journal template.

10. References not in accordance with the requirements of the article.

Author Response

We want to thank the referee for his precious comments

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors

Scientific comments

It is an interesting work about the thermal amplitudes in the different structural layers of the roads, which will be very important for the recovery and readjustment of the design and calculation of future roads.

In 1. Introduction should start by defining the structure (surface course – asphalt layer, blinder course, base, sub-base, and foundation) of roads (flexible pavements?), versus depth of temperature measurement points. The height of the different structural layers may also change from road to road that is assessed, as they depend on the standard axis used in the design.

For freezing and thawing of soils the degree of saturation of soil is important, when you write:

 soil” are strongly 38 dependent on climatic, hydrological, soil, and other natural conditions, which vary 39 widely (6, 9, 10, and 11). That is why the depth of freezing varies from year to year, as 40 does the climate on the Earth (12, 13)… is partially correct. There are other very important variables that are not mentioned: e.g. type of soil used, relative density in-situ, or degree of compaction on site, the presence of clay and its plasticity index.

Still, e.g. (line57), …necessary parameters in 56 different years, the researchers use various measuring means…  … It should describe what the means.

In 2. Research Background and Method ... should further clarify the link with item 3. Results and Discussion, such as, line 74 to 75 with line 76 and following.

It must define depth versus different structural layer in the text and the same in figure 1 b). You must separate and refer in the text the presentation of figure 1 a) and b). You should also change …Names of materials for structural layers and their thickness 87 are given in Table 1. 88… separating the depths by structural function on the road. It must also present the physical and mechanical parameters of the soils, as they are important to evaluate the expected mechanical behavior when put into service.

In 3. Results and Discussion …the unknown variables A, B, C are determined… (line 135) should describe how they are determined and what they mean in equation 1.

The text (line 141 to 150) must be before Table 3.

…to 04.30.2022 (Figure 3) is obtained. The 160 (e.g line 160 to 166)… explain how the Figure is obtained and how it is interpreted. Figure 3 and following require an interpretive guide or the insertion of a third axis…

…Moreover, according to the aforementioned method, the patterns of the freezing-178 thawing process at measuring stations located near the settlements of Oskemen, Balkhash, 179 Kosshy, Kazaly, Almaty, Ucharal and Zaisan were studied…. It would be interesting to put a simple map with the location and associated climate…

In 4. Conclusions, you must improve by assuming the previous concepts (e.g line 234) …tension stress … is not correct.

The bibliography is adequate.

Editorial comments

The Table must be on the same page, e.g., Table 3 and 5;

Table 3 must be cited on the text before;

Author Response

We want to thank the referee for his precious comments

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Review Comments

 

Paper ID: applsci-2010079-peer-review-v1

Title of the paper: Freezing and thawing processes of roads in Kazakhstan

Comments:

The authors have selected a practice-based paper relevant to the field. However, the research component is missing.

The following comments/suggestions may help the authors further improvement of the paper:

·         Elaborate the abbreviations whenever used for the first time in the paper. For example: GPGS.

·         What is the outcome/conclusion? Briefly this has to be provided in the abstract.

·         Ln#16: what are the regional features considered in this study?

·         Introduction: Objectives of the study are missing. With the support of the research gaps, objectives of the study must be clearly conveyed in the introduction section.

·         Ln#60: The authors have stated that “….28 measuring stations equipped with temperature 66 and moisture sensors were installed all over the country.” Many readers across the globe may not be aware where they are. Therefore, suggested to include the map of the country showing the test locations.

·         Also, the authors have stated that “The locations of other stations across all climate zones of Kazakhstan are described in the next sections of this study.”  But there is no information provided in this regard in the next section.

·         Figure-1 (b): Same test section and sensor locations was maintained at all 28 stations?

·         Table-1: What is h5=90x? Also, what is mixture C-4? The authors have to remember that the paper will be read by readers across the world. Use the universal terms or define the local terms wherever used.

·         Table-2 is redundant, same information is already presented in Figure-1 (b). Therefore, suggested to remove the table.

·         Figure-2: Title of X-axis is confusing, write complete dates.

·         Ln#111: What is “chronological map”? It has to be defined and explained briefly.

·         Table-3 and 4: the data presented is for which station?

·         Suggested to combine the figure-3 and 4.

·         Figure-3 and 4: On x-axis, showing only hours may not help readers to understand. Suggested to include the month and days as well.

·         Ln#171: What are h1 and h2? How are these values calculated? And what are thw significance of these values?

·         Figure-5: Data is presented for 8 stations, what about remaining 20 stations?

·         Ln#196: The authors have stated that “Here, the duration of freezing ranges from 114 to 177 days, and the depths of freezing reach 218 cm, 112 cm and 225 cm” Why it is happening so? This is where research contribution comes into picture. The authors strongly suggested to find the influencing factors (quantify them) and link them with the freezing depths.

·         Ln#203-205: Also include the corresponding duration for freezing.

·         It is very critical to inform how the authors have considered data from all 28 stations to plot or present in table/graphs? Therefore, the authors must include this information.

·         Third conclusion is not adequately supported by the results and discussions.

·         How was the moisture data used in this study?

·         Listed references are not consistent. Follow the journal suggested format and maintain the consistent formatting for all the references.

Author Response

We want to thank the referee for his precious comments

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I can still see that at the top of the article, after the journal name applied sciences (in the upper left corner), it still remains Review and must be Article.

Dear Authors, I have no further comments for your manuscript.