The E ect of Geosynthetic Reinforcement on the Damage Propagation Rate of Asphalt Pavements

Abstract

Abstract. There are several approaches for modeling the fatigue life and damage of asphalt pavements, such as stress-strain and damage mechanics. In this research, a simple mechanistic approach is used to explain the destruction of asphalt pavements. For asphalt reinforcement, two types of geosynthetic were used in the air eld at Imam Khomeini airport, Tehran. Non-reinforced, reinforced with a geogrid and geotextile specimens with dimensions of 50 63 381 mm were obtained from the asphalt slab eld section. Fatigue tests of this study have been conducted with a four point beam test and a fatigue load with a half-sin wave at a frequency of 10 cycle/sec (no rest period), has been used. The results indicated that specimens reinforced with geosynthetics exhibit a higher initial sti ness module and lower crack propagation rate than non-reinforced specimens.