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Effect of Geogrid Type and Subgrade Strength on the Traffic Benefit Ratio of Flexible Pavements

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Abstract

In this study, extensive large-scale model pavement experiments consisting of a total of twenty-one pavement sections overlying different subgrade conditions (poor to firm) were conducted to determine the traffic benefit ratio (TBR). TBR is quantified as the ratio of a cumulative number of load cycles to reach a defined deformation/failure state in the reinforced section to that of the unreinforced section with the same pavement geometry and material constitutions. Biaxial geogrids made up of polyester and polypropylene of varying tensile strengths were considered. The controlled experimentation was carried out in a large-sized test chamber of dimensions equal to 1.5 m in length, 1.5 m in width, and 1.0 m in depth. To simulate the wheel loading on the pavement in a real field condition, repetitive loading was applied in the form of haversine loading using a linear actuator system of 100 kN capacity. Based on the studies, geogrid placed at one-third thickness of the base layer was found to be the optimal depth of reinforcement. TBRs of the reinforced pavement were found to range from 1 to 52. The study, however, recommends the use of TBR ranging from 1.5 to 4 for a conservative design. Finally, the TBR-based design of pavements was illustrated through a worked-out example for given input parameters. The thickness of aggregate layers was found to reduce by 7.5–29% for the range of California bearing ratios and TBRs considered in this study.

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Data Availability

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Abbreviations

AASHTO:

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

CBR:

California bearing ratio

CPD:

Cumulative permanent deformation

COV:

Coefficient of variation

DBM:

Dense bituminous macadam

ESAL:

Equivalent single-axle load

IRC:

Indian Roads Congress

LCR:

Layer coefficient ratio

LWD:

Lightweight deflectometer

MD:

Machine direction

MIF:

Modulus improvement factor

MORTH:

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

MPT:

Multi Purpose Test Ware

msa:

Million standard axles

PET:

Polyester

PP:

Polypropylene

TBR:

Traffic benefit ratio

XMD:

Cross-machine direction

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank M/s. TechFab India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Strata Geosystems India Pvt. Ltd. for readily providing the geogrids.

Funding

This work was carried out as part of the research project funded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the grant no: NHAI/TIC/R&D/108/2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, Kandi, 502284, India

    Ramu Baadiga, Umashankar Balunaini, Sireesh Saride & Madhira R Madhav

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  1. Ramu Baadiga
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  2. Umashankar Balunaini
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  3. Sireesh Saride
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  4. Madhira R Madhav
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Contributions

Ramu Baadiga: conceptualization formulation, methodology, data acquisition, examination, analysis, and original manuscript writing. Umashankar Balunaini: conceptualization formulation, project supervision, resource allocation, methodology, visualization, writing the original manuscript, and editing. Sireesh Saride: conceptualization formulation, supervision, and manuscript review. Madhav Madhira R: conceptualization, project administration, visualization, manuscript review, and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Umashankar Balunaini.

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Baadiga, R., Balunaini, U., Saride, S. et al. Effect of Geogrid Type and Subgrade Strength on the Traffic Benefit Ratio of Flexible Pavements. Transp. Infrastruct. Geotech. 10, 180–210 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40515-021-00203-5

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