Numerical Study of Geotextile-Reinforced Flexible Pavement Overlying Low-Strength Subgrade

Abstract

Construction of low-volume flexible pavements on low-strength subgrade poses design, construction, and maintenance challenges. While researchers have generally acknowledged the potential for geosynthetics as reinforcement material, they mainly focused on permanent deformation. Therefore, this paper presents a numerical study of low-volume flexible pavement reinforced with geotextile material under static loading to determine the improvement due to reinforcement based on three criteria: rutting performance, geosynthetic placement location, and base course thickness reduction. Based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), three-dimensional modeling using Abaqus/CAE software was performed. From the study, a significant decrease in rutting of up to 25.2% for the unreinforced pavement system was attained with geotextile reinforcement at base–subgrade and AC–base interfaces. The deflection response behavior of the pavement system is affected by the elastic modulus of the geosynthetic material, placement location, and the number of reinforcement layers. As a result of reinforcement, a base course thickness reduction of up to 30% was achieved without sacrificing the pavement’s structural integrity.

Mathematical Modeling of a Corrugated Geogrid and Geocell Reinforced Flexible Pavement Base with Interlayer Shear Performance Analysis

“…Yin et al [21] conducted a computational analysis of low-volume flexible pavement reinforced with geotextile material under static stress was carried out to assess the improvement due to reinforcement based on three criteria: rutting performance, geosynthetic installation location, and base course thickness reduction. The Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to model three-dimensionally in Abaqus/CAE software.…”

“…Overall from this literature study, it is understood that [16] did not consider the axial loading effect on the bonding between the geogrid and pavement layer, [17] the long-term performance also needs to be evaluated for the proper analysis, [18] a field monitoring of a railway section reinforced with geosynthetics is needed, [19] the properties of the filling material in the geocell need to be further studied, [20] the development of standardized testing methods is necessary, [21] the load transfer mechanisms between the geosynthetic and pavement layers also need to be studied, [22] the vehicle speed increases and the reinforcing effect reduces in asphalt layer, [23] instability in any of the layers will cause the paving system to fail, and in [25] the effect of encasement is directly affected by the stiffness of the fabric and in [26] it is not possible to use it in actual calculations. In [27] the need to improve the system's longevity and dependability, [28] more testing in various scenarios was likely needed, [29] requirement for additional validation used more widely, [30] interference effect causes potential challenges in specific situations, requiring further research, [31] necessary to validate geocell reinforcement's wider efficacy.…”

Laboratory Model Test on The Sand Column for Reinforcement System of Flexible Pavement

“…Using soil reinforcement techniques represents a promising alternative, as it can significantly increase the load-bearing capacity of the subgrade layer. Therefore, a soil reinforcement method is needed as one of the suitable alternatives for use in the subgrade layer that can increase the bearing capacity value (Abdullah, 2023;Hashem & Abu-Baker, 2013;Ghanizadeh et al, 2022;Kusuma et al, 2022;Muntohar, 2016;Shakhan et al, 2022;Shirazi et al, 2020;Valipour et al, 2021;Yin et al, 2022).…”