GEOSYNTHETIC

S IN PAVEMENTS
ROAD
PAVEMENTS
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENTS
LOAD TRANSFER MECHANISM
 FACTORS AFFECTING
PAVEMENT DESIGN
• Max. Wheel load

• Axle Configuration

• Contact Pressure

• ESWL

• Repetition of loads

• Climatic factor,Material
properties
TYPICAL PAVEMENT FAILURE
DESIGN ASPECTS
CBR- INTERPRETATION OF CBR
EMPIRICAL FORMULAE
 IRC-METHOD OF DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE
PAVEMENT SYSTEM (IRC-37-2012)

• IRC-37-1970
• IRC-37-1984
• IRC-37-2001
• IRC-37-2012

Based on Mechanistic-Empirical method

The limiting rutting is recommended as 20mm in 20 percent
of the length for design traffic up to 30 msa and 10 percent
of the length of the design traffic beyond
PAVEMENT DESIGN
CONTD..
•Subgrade fine intrusion
significantly reduces the friction
angle of the granular soil

•Primary function- Separation

•Secondary function-
filtration,drainage and
reinforcement
 Filter to prevent fines
from migrating into
the aggregate due to
high pore water
FUNCTION pressure induced by
dynamic wheel loads
OF
GEOTEXTIL
E Drain – dissipation of
excess pore water
pressure
MECHANISM INVOLVED – LATERAL
RESTRAINMENT OF BASE AND THE SUBGRADE

•When loaded by wheel or truck,

the aggregate layer moves
laterally,
•weak subgrade provide very
little lateral restraint, so when
the aggregate moves laterally,
ruts develop on the aggregate
surface

•Provision of geogrid with good

interlocking capabilities,
geotextile with good frictional
capabilities can provide
resistance to lateral aggregate
movement
IMPROVEMENT IN THE
SYSTEM BEARING
CAPACITY
•Provision of
geosynthetic
reinforcement provides
an alternate higher
strength path

•Increases the bearing

capacity of the
roadway system
•
 MEMBRANE SUPPORT
MECHANISM –
TEMPORARY ROADS

•Geosynthetics have high

tensile strength,tensile
modulus, the tensile stresses
developed (membrane
stress) supports the wheel
loads.

•Tensile stresses are

developed only with some
deformation of the geotextile
or minimum rutting is
required to develop the
membrane type support.
BENEFITS OF GEOSYNTHETICS
APPLICATION IN PAVEMENTS
DUAL WHEELS AND
EQUIVALENT SINGLE WHEEL
LOAD
ASSUMPTIONS
 • Secant Modulus from the tension-
elongation curve
• 0 to 20% strain ----- 1kN/m to
5kN/m-----------Plain rubber or
Plastic sheets
PROPERTIES • 20kN/m -500 kN/m----------Non-
OF woven geotextiles
GEOTEXTILE • 50kN/m-5000 kN/m

S ----------------Woven Geotextiles

• Woven Geotextile-----
Biaxial/Uniaxial
• Non-Woven Geotextile-----------
Biaxial test is strongly
recommended
EFFECTIVENESS OF GEOSYNTHETICS AS
FUNCTION OF SUBGRADE STRENGTH
 AXLE LOAD AND CONTACT
AREA
P= Axle Load (N)
pc= Tyre inflation
• Geometry of the unpaved road
Pressure
pec= equivalent
contact pressure

P=4Acpc
LB=2AC2
P=2LB pec
pec=pc/2
 LENGTH AND BREADTH
•• L=
INTERMS OF P AND PC
  0.707B (on highway trucks)
• L=0.5B( off highway trucks)

• B=-----off highway trucks

• L=0.5B( off highway trucks)

• B=(√�/��)
• L= (on highway trucks)
 o,  = 25 ° and 45°,
tan, tan o = 0.47 and
QUASI STATIC ANALYSIS

MECHANISM OF FAILURE OF UNPAVED

ROADS
• Aggregate layer --- The frictional coefficient of the aggregate layer is
large enough to ensure the mechanical stability of the layer

• Geotextile ----the friction angle of the geotextile in contact with the

aggregate layer under the wheels is large enough to prevent sliding of
the aggregate layer of the geotextile

• Foundation Soils---- Failure of the foundation soil and of the geotextile

ELASTIC AND PLASTIC
BEHAVIOR OF SOIL
BIDIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

BASED ON ELASTIC AND PLASTIC BEHAVIOR OF SOIL

LOAD DISTRIBUTION BY AGGREGATE
LAYER

• Pyramidal Distribution

• Po – pressure at the base of the aggregate layer when no

geotextile is provided
• P- pressure at the base of the aggregate layer when
geotextile is provided.
AGGREGATE
THICKNESS HO
VERSUS SUBGRADE
SOIL COHESION

subgrade soil
cohesion cu and
axle load are
known

restricted to
very light traffic
(1-20 passages)
INFLUENCE OF TRAFFIC
FOR OTHER RUT DEPTHS
AGGREGATE THICKNESS WHEN
TRAFFIC IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT
 QUASI STATIC ANALYSIS OF UNPAVED
ROADS WITH GEOTEXTILE

• Kinematics of unpaved roads

• Subgrade soil equilibrium

• Shape of deformed geotextile

MEMBRANE EFFECT DUE TO
GEOTEXTILE
• Due to the stretching of the geotextile, it
takes a curved shape.
• Between the wheels “BB” the pressure
applied by the geotextile on the subgrade soil
is higher than the pressure applied by the
aggregate layer on the geotextile
• Under the wheels, “AB” the pressure applied
on the geotextile by wheels and the
aggregate is higher than the pressure applied
by the geotextile on the subgrade soil
EFFECT OF MEMEBRANE
EFFECT
1. Confinement of the subgrade soil
between and beyond the wheels
2. Reduction of the pressure applied by the
wheels on the subgrade soil
CONTD….

• The pressure applied on the subgrade soil by

the portion AB

p*=p-pg……………………………(a)
P* - Pressure acting on the subgrade soil
P- pressure applied by the wheels
Pg- reduction of pressure from the use of
geotextile
 CONTD…

• p*=(+2)cu +H…………………..(b)
• p-pg =(+2)cu +H………………….(c)
• P* can be as large as the ultimate
bearing capacity of the subgrade
soil
• Pg depends on the shape of the
deformed geotextile and
elongation of the geotextile
 DETERMINATION OF THICKNESS OF
AGGREGATE LAYER FOR UNPAVED ROADS
WITH GEOTEXTILE

K depends on the elongation and shape of the geotextile

AGGEGATE THICKNESS H
VERSUS SUBGRADE SOIL
COHESION
AGGREGATE THICKNESS H0’ AND POSSIBLE REDUCTION OF
THICKNESS H RESULTING FROM USE OF GEOTEXTILE
VERSUS SUBGRADE SOIL COHESION
DESIGN PROCEDURE