Field assessment of improvement in composite modulus of geosynthetic-reinforced pavements

Abstract

A field study was carried out by constructing 15 test sections on Sahol-Kim state highway (city: Surat, India) using different geosynthetic materials and three control sections. The benefits of geosynthetic reinforcement were evaluated in terms of composite modulus obtained by Light Weight Deflectometer and field California Bearing Ratio tests of the granular layer. The effect of geosynthetic type, its properties, the location of the geosynthetic, infill material, and so on was investigated. The increase in the tensile strength of the geogrid had less effect on composite modulus improvement factor (CMIF) compared to the aperture size of the geogrid. The placement depth of the geogrid also had a strong influence on CMIF. Pavements with geocell-reinforced bases exhibited higher modulus improvement compared to geogrid-reinforced pavements. Geocell sections with wet mix macadam as an infill material exhibited better performance compared to those with fly ash as an infill material.