What causes potholes in a dirt road?

Question

How about chatterbumps?

Answer 1

potholes are caused by weak spots in the compacted subsurface of the road , chatter bumps ( new word to me , i like it ) are caused by a combination of braking and suspension action , the wheels actually start hopping and every time a vehicle goes over it it gets worse.

Answer 2

The principle of quickening of mass. The movement of dirt is made when a heavy force hits it.
In most of the road, the road bed, or under-surface/foundation is sort of even in density. But there are less packed areas that respond when hit by a weight, like a vehicle. The looser packed dirt foundation compresses, allowing the top layer, or road surface, to sink.
Repeated poundings, rain water and wind erosion all play a part in that dreaded pot hole.
Street repairs, when they are made, fail to fix the foundation first. That causes the pot hole to show up repeatedly.
Highway repairs that scrape off the top surface layer, repair the foundation with heavy weight machinery, then re-surface the road, generally give the best results.

Chatter bumps, or ridges across the road are caused by similar displacement in the foundation, but the water and wind erosion are greater factors, usually because of the lay of the road in proximity to the prevailing winds.

Answer 3

well i would have to say not all dirt roads are smooth solid pavement roads now are they? But even pavement has pothole problems. Well the scientific aspect of this is that all of those materials for whatever kind of road u have are a mixture of something and part of that mixture wasnt mixed or spread uniformly thru out. Dirt roads are tricky because they have many things of nature interacting with it all the time, Caverns, plants angle of a slide etc. Dirt roads mold around natures design.

Answer 4

oftentimes, water flows into the line. It then freezes. even as it expands, it causes the asphalt to boost. finally, it cant take it and it cracks into potholes. In summer season, that is caaused with techniques from erosion

Answer 5

The least compacted dirt will get pushed out.

What are 'chatterbumps'? are these the ridges that rise up? That is where the earth literally mushed to the side and mounding occurs.

Answer 6

chatterbumps", also known as Washboards, are caused by people putting on their brakes going down hills. this causes the dirt to lump up, creating those ripples of dirt you see.

Answer 7

"chatterbumps", also known as Washboards, are caused by people putting on their brakes going down hills. this causes the dirt to lump up, creating those ripples of dirt you see.

Answer 8

It's like crop circles. They are actually communication, sorry, communication symbols aliens use to communicate with humans who are able to decipher them. To you, and me, it's meaningless (except for being annoying) but to those specially tuned people with cars that can translate it has great significance. Most likely people who take huge hints to "get" things, like rednecks in old pickup trucks.

Answer 9

Prankster trolls that don't have a bridge to hang out in.

Answer 10

I think that the rain would