Dhawan, Kapil and Saride, Sireesh
(2017)
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF GEOCELL
REINFORCED FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS.
Masters thesis, Indian institute of technology Hyderabad.
Abstract
The influence of introducing a three dimensional geo-synthetic material, called geocells in
the base layer of flexible pavements is investigated in the current study. This study compares
the reinforced and unreinforced pavement sections constructed on a subgrade having a
moderate California bearing ratio (CBR) value of 5%. A series of model tests were carried
out to understand the influence of geocell reinforcement on the load carrying mechanism of
the pavement section under static and repeated loading conditions. The parameters studied
were as follows: load-settlement response of the pavement sections, actual rut at the subgrade
level, pressure transmitted to the subgrade soil underlying the geocell reinforced base layer
and surface deformation profile of the test sections.
Different flexible pavement design methodologies proposed by Indian Roads Congress (IRC)
and American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) were
used for the design of pavement sections and were compared through experimental program
conducted in the laboratory. Large scale repeated load tests were performed to replicate the
actual field conditions. The test results indicate that the geocell reinforcement reduces the
rutting in the pavement. The performance improvement was presented in terms of traffic
benefit ratios (TBR), layer coefficient ratios (LCR), rut depth reductions (RDR) and rut
benefit ratios (RBR). Besides, under the same load repetitions, the thickness of the reinforced
pavement is considerably less than that of the unreinforced pavement section. In addition to
the cost savings, this would conserve natural materials like aggregates used in the pavement
construction. Overall, the inclusion of geocell in the base layer helps in improving the life,
uniform distribution of load, reduction in rut depth and it also provides an economical and
sustainable solution to the present practices.
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