United States Department of Transportation
i
Geosynthetic Reinforcement in Asphalt Overlays for Increased Roadway Structural Capacity
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2024-08-01
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[PDF-21.18 MB]
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Edition:Technical Report May 2021 – August 2024
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Abstract:A comprehensive full-scale field monitoring program involving different types of geosynthetic reinforcement products was successfully implemented. The monitoring system included asphalt strain gauges, thermocouples, geophones, and moisture sensors. The monitoring results indicate that all asphalt overlay sections reinforced with geosynthetic reinforcements performed better than the control section in minimizing tensile strains under controlled traffic loads, thereby improving the roadway structural capacity. The tensile strains decreased with increasing asphalt overlay thickness, irrespective of the presence or absence of geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays. The benefit of incorporating geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays was comparatively higher in thin asphalt overlays than in thick asphalt overlays. Tensile strains increased with increasing ambient air temperatures, irrespective of the presence or absence of geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays. The benefit of incorporating geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays was higher in conditions involving hot temperatures than in cold temperatures. The tensile strains increased with increasing time since construction (i.e., asphalt aging and degradation), irrespective of the presence or absence of geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays. The benefit from incorporating geosynthetic reinforcements below the asphalt overlays was significantly higher as asphalt ages and degraded compared to a fresh asphalt layer. The reductions in tensile strains with the inclusion of geosynthetic reinforcements suggest an increase in the roadway structural capacity. The design could incorporate such benefits via two alternative approaches: Increased apparent asphalt modulus and reduced fatigue damage. The two design approaches would eventually lead to increased service life (ESALs) and decreased asphalt thickness.
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