Performance of Geosynthetic Reinforced Model Pavements under Repetitive Loading

Abstract

In this paper, the effectiveness of geosynthetic reinforcement materials such as geogrids and geocells in improving the pavement performance is investigated by carrying out a series of repeated load tests on unreinforced, geogrid and geocell reinforced model pavement sections. The effect of properties of geogrids and geocells on the improved performance is also studied. The provision of geogrid/geocell at the interface of subgrade and sub-base course is found to reduce the plastic settlement significantly with geocells being very effective when compared with geogrids. The reduced plastic settlement results in reduced rutting at the surface leading to increased service life of the pavements and also increased ride comfort to the road users. The geocells reinforcement results in higher TBR values when compared with that of geogrid.