Reinforced Pavements

Richard Bennett

Pavement Engineer (Europe)

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 • Problems Faced
• Asphalt reinforcement
• Unbound layer reinforcement
• Installation
• Benefits of reinforcement

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Fatigue cracking

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Rutting Shoving/ structural

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Transverse cracking

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Longitudinal / settlement

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Edge break/ haunching failure

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Pavement Solutions
Maccaferri provides products for all layers

i) Unbound layers
ii) Asphalt layers

Roadmesh (Steel mesh)

Asphalt Layers
MacGrid AR (Glassgrid)

MacGrid EG
Granular Foundation (Extruded biaxial geogrid)
MacGrid WG
(Woven geogrid)
Subgrade MacTex
(Geotextile)

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 Asphalt reinforcement

MacGrid AR – Glass reinforced woven geogrid Roadmesh – Wire mesh

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 TENSION COMPRESSION

ASPHALT LAYERS

SUBBASE
STRESS
DISTRIBUTION

SUBGRADE

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 TENSION COMPRESSION

ASPHALT LAYERS
Tension
taken by
SUBBASE
reinforcement

SUBGRADE STRESS
DISTRIBUTION

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Modes of reflective cracking

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Asphalt reinforcement

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Roadmesh

Reinforcing bar

Double twisted
wire mesh

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 Road Mesh : Unique Properties
• Bi Directional Strength
TWarp
• Full Interlock Into Matrix

• 3D Open Structure

– Stands clear of surface - “W”

profile TWeft
– Allows compaction around the
wire strands
• Robust

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Beam bending test

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Wheel track test
SUMMARY OF RUT RESULTS

Control
Deformation [mm]

20 Degrees
Road Mesh

Control 13 Degrees

Road Mesh

12kN Repetitions

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Roadmesh installation

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Roadmesh installation

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Roadmesh installation

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Roadmesh installation

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Installation problems

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Roads on peat, differential settlement

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Uses of Roadmesh
Structural overlays – design check with OLCrack
• Thinner overlay same design life
• Same overlay longer design life
120

100

80
Life (msa)

Reinforced
60
Unreinforced
40

20

0
70 90 110 130 150 170 190 210 230 250
Thickness of overlay (mm)

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Roadmesh
• Overlays
– Extends life x 1.4 – 1.9
– Reduce thickness 10 - 20%
– Halves rutting
– At least 50mm overlay, preferably more
• Widening
– Longitudinal cracking
• Peat subgrade
– Control cracking due to differential settlement

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MacGrid AR
• Glass reinforced polyester geogrid
– Glass provides high stiffness at low strain
– Low long term creep
• Thin inlays/ resurfacing
– With geotextile membrane
• Waterproofing
• Shallow fatigue cracking
– Top down cracking
• Shoving

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MacGrid AR installation
• Fill cracks
• Remove irregularities
>5mm
• Pull off test
• Tack coat
• Fragile

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MacGrid AR installation

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 Example
Elefsina-Tsakona Motorway

14

12
+ 40mm DBM Without
10 Roadmesh
Traffic (msa)

8
Plane off 100mm With
6 +100mm HDM + 40mm Roadmesh
DBM
4
Plane off 25mm Plane off 65mm
2 + 25mm Thin Wearing + 40mm DBM + 25mm Thin
Course
Wearing Course
0
2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 2037 2039 2041 2043 2045 2047

Year

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 • Life cycle cost analysis
• Airport pavement overlay
• 50 Year design life
• 5 overlays reduced to 3
• NPV analysis
• 4% discount rate

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 •Cost benefit up to 34%
•Sensitive to relative cost
asphalt/ reinforcement
•Most benefit for thicker
overlays (> 75mm)

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Asphalt reinforcement
• Changes crack behaviour in asphalt
– Delayed initiation
– Slower growth
– Narrower width
– Wider spacing
– Deviation at grid
• Lateral restraint
– Reduces rutting and shoving
– Little effect on modulus in the short term
• Installation
– Bond crucial
• Design check with OLCrack
– Uses fatigue function to model crack propagation

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 Unbound layers
GEOGRID GEOGRID COMPOSITE
MacGrid WG MacGrid EG
• Unbound stabilisation Reinforcement + Separation
+ Filtration

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Unbound roads & unbound layer
reinforcement
Elastic Plastic
behaviour behaviour


Lateral  Tensioned membrane

Restraint

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Unbound layers

Lateral restraint Tensioned membrane

CBR < 5%

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WHEELTRACK TEST – GIROUD & HAN
Rut depth = 50 mm; tyre pressure = 550 kPa; 1000 passes; axle load = 80 kN

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Reduces sub-base thickness 30%

Base
or
Base
Sub-base Sub-base
Geogrid
Subgrade Subgrade

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Unbound reinforcement
• Increased lateral restraint
– Increased modulus
– Improved vertical stress distribution
– Reduced shear strain
– Increased bearing capacity
• Separation layer

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Separation membrane prevents pumping
effect

settlement
+
loss of
granular fill

Geogrid &
Geotextile

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Summary
• Reduce
– Cracking
• Fatigue
• Reflection
• Settlement
• Halve rut depth
• Reduce layer thickness by a third
• Double life
• Whole life costs reduced by up to a third

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 Thank you

Any Questions ?
Bennettr@maccaferri.co.uk
Phone: 07584 474366
www.maccaferri.co.uk

Reinforced Pavements R Bennett