Field Trial for Asphalt Pavements Reinforced with Geosynthetics and Behavior of Glass-Fiber Grids

Abstract

This paper presents details of a large field trial and some observations conducted to evaluate the practical efficiencies of geosynthetically reinforced asphalt pavements in Shanxi Province, China. Three glass-fiber grids (LB2000 II, TGG-8080, GGA 2021), one plastic grid (Tensar AR1), two geotextiles (nonwoven needle-punched and nonwoven heat-bonded), and one geocomposite (Tensar AR-G) application were selected for evaluation. These geosynthetics were installed in the interface between new asphalt pavement layers (APL) and new cement-stabilized gravel–sand base courses coated by emulsified asphalt or within new APL in the reconstruction of asphalt pavement sections (Program I), or in the interface between old APL and new overlay layers in the asphalt overlay pavement sections (Program II). In each program, reinforced sections with different geosynthetics were compared with each other and with nonreinforced sections to determine relative performance. Inspections after construction showed that the integrated damage ratio and deflection in the pavement sections reinforced with glass–fiber grids were less than other pavement sections. Furthermore, after about