Investigation of Structural Capacity of Geogrid-Reinforced Aggregate Base Materials in Flexible Pavements

The objective of this research was to investigate the structural capacity of geogrid-reinforced aggregate base materials in flexible pavements through full-scale testing. The scope involved field testing at two sites in northern Utah that each included five different geogrid-reinforced sections and five accompanying unreinforced control sections. Five different geogrid types were utilized to ensure that the experimentation was representative of the geogrid products available in the industry at the time of the study. At each of the two field sites, 10 test sections were established, and several field tests were conducted during and following construction of the two pavements to characterize the in-situ structural properties of the subgrade, base, and hot mix asphalt layers of each geogrid-reinforced and unreinforced test section. Samples of the subgrade and base materials were also obtained from both field sites for laboratory testing. An analysis of covariance (ANOCOVA) was conducted on the results of each field test to determine if the structural capacity of the geogrid-reinforced sections was different than that of the accompanying unreinforced control sections. Among the 24 ANOCOVA models developed for the two field sites, only four indicated that geogrid presence was statistically significant. Of these four models, three indicated that the presence of geogrid reinforcement led to higher values of the given measurement of structural capacity compared to the unreinforced condition; however, in none of the cases was the difference practically important as defined in this research and would therefore not result in a different input in the pavement design process. Further field research is recommended to investigate the duration of the required conditioning period and also the extent of the zone of influence of geogrid reinforcement in aggregate base courses.

• Record URL:
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qy5Qetn2OiW4nng3GCC0HWZDvFi6SHWj/view
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32414
• Corporate Authors:

  Brigham Young University

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Provo, UT  United States  84602

  Utah Department of Transportation

  4501 South 2700 West
  Salt Lake City, UT  United States  84114-8410

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Guthrie, W Spencer
  • Sweat, Eric J
• Publication Date: 2016-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 142p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aggregates; Base course (Pavements); Field tests; Flexible pavements; Geogrids; Pavement design; Structural analysis
• Geographic Terms: Utah
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01640107
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UT-16.20, UT 09.301
• Contract Numbers: 12-9110
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 30 2017 7:44PM