GeotextilesandGeomernbranes14 (1996) 175 186

© 1996 ElsevierScienceLimited
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ELSEVIER PII:SO266- 1 144(96)00007-6

Enhanced Performance of Asphalt Pavements Using

Geocomposites

R. A. Austin & A. J. T. Gilchrist

Netlon Limited, New Wellington Street, Blackburn, BB2 4PJ, U K

A BS TRA C T

Geogrids have been extensively used to reinforce bituminous pavements and

have been shown to provide considerable benefits to long-term pavement
performance. The paper describes the development and testing of a
composite combining a stiff polypropylene geogrid with a geotextile, thus
producing a material with the handling and installation benefits of a
geotextile combined with the performance benefits of a stiff geogrid. A case
study detailing the use of the composite reinforcement is also presented.
Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

1 INTRODUCTION

The use of geosynthetics is an established means of improving pavement

performance. Stiff biaxial geogrids were first used for the reinforcement of
asphalt in 1982 at Canvey Island, near London, England, where 10,000 m 2
of geogrid were used to control reflective cracking over a cracked concrete
pavement.
Numerous other geogrid installations have been carried out world-wide
since this initial project and the use of both geogrids and geotextiles for
pavement applications is becoming more common. More recently
geocomposites have been developed for pavement applications, combining
the performance of a geogrid with the ease of installation associated with a
geotextile.

175
176 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilchrist

This paper discusses some of the early research work carried out on
geogrids together with recent work carried out on pavement geocompo-
sites, in addition to describing an installation case study.

2 INITIAL RESEARCH

In 1981 a four year programme of research was started to investigate the

benefits of using geogrids for asphalt reinforcement. Laboratory test work
investigated the benefits of geogrids with respect to the control of surface
deformation, the control of reflective cracking and the improvement of the
fatigue life of the pavement. This early research work, at the University of
Nottingham, UK, consisted of simulative testing with installation techni-
ques being developed in field trials and installations. Details of the
laboratory work undertaken have been published by Brown et al.
(1985a, b). The major components of this research work, carried out using
the Tensar AR1 geogrid, were as follows.

2.1 Permanent deformation testing

Testing was carried out on slabs made from various asphalt mixes and
loaded on a very stiff base to eliminate the effects of the lower pavement.
Repeated wheel loading was applied at a constant speed and at an eleva-
ted temperature. Comparison between unreinforced and reinforced slabs
showed that the reinforcement provided significant resistance to lateral
flow and, hence, the build up of permanent deformation. The reduction in
rutting was found to be as high as 70%.

2.2 Reflective cracking testing

Hundred-millimetre deep asphalt beams were supported on a stiff base
and subjected to vertical cyclic loading and repeated wheel loading. A
10mm wide joint in the base simulated a joint or crack in a rigid pave-
ment. In the reinforced samples with the geogrid installed directly above
the joint it was shown that crack propagation could be considerably
retarded and on some "samples cracking was eliminated entirely.
These small scale tests, to examine pavement deformation and reflective
cracking, were repeated in the Nottingham University pavement test facility
and the significant increase in performance was confirmed at a larger scale.

2.3 Fatigue testing

Similar beams to those used in the reflective crack test were used to
investigate the effects of the geogrid with regard to fatigue resistance of
 Enhanced performance o]"asphalt pavements 177

the pavement. A slightly less stiff base was used, but the support was
continuous. A saw cut was made in the base of the beam to determine the
position of the onset of fatigue cracking. A vertical cyclic loading was used
and strains were measured at various points over the depth of the beam
and the propagation of cracking through the beam monitored.
Results showed that in general the fatigue life of the pavement was
increased by up to a factor of 10 to a given level of traffic induced strain
within the asphalt, when the geogrid was installed at the base of the layer.
Since the geogrid has a modulus similar to that of the asphalt,
comparative testing of both reinforced and unreinforced pavements
immediately after construction, showed little or no difference in stiffness.
However after an extended period of trafficking it was found that the
stiffness of the unreinforced pavement diminished rapidly, as expected, as
fatigue cracks developed from the bottom of the bituminous layers,
whereas the reinforced pavement maintained its original stiffness over a
significantly longer period.
Investigation showed that the geogrid takes over the tensile load carry-
ing role, once the bitumen has cracked. This validated the original theory
that the reinforcing element should have a stiffness compatible to the
bitumen itself and not be excessively strong to interfere with the elastic
properties of the pavement.

3 F U L L SCALE T R I A L S

Many full scale trials have been carried out in different geographical
locations throughout the world to confirm the results of the laboratory
testing and to develop efficient methods of installing the geogrid (Nunn &
Potter, 1993).
From the results of the laboratory and field trials it was possible to
derive an analytical design method incorporating geogrids which is based
on the strain capacity improvement of the pavement related to the number
of axle passes (Brown, 1985a).

4 DEVELOPMENTS

Although the methods developed for installing the geogrid gained rapid
acceptance, methods to improve the technique were constantly being
investigated. In 1990 Netlon began to examine the benefits of bonding a
geotextile to the asphalt reinforcing geogrid in order to provide a material
which could be installed without the need to fix, tension and dress prior to
paving by machine.
178 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilchrist

The development work undertaken resulted in the composite product

known as Tensar AR-G. In this composite, a Tensar AR1 geogrid is
thermally bonded to a thin, nonwoven, stitch bonded polypropylene
geotextile at the geogrid nodes. Bonding the two materials in this manner
provides a sufficiently bonded composite for installation purposes with no
reduction in tensile performance of the oriented grid, since there is no heat
damage to the highly oriented geogrid ribs.
Installation of the composite requires a regulated road surface to be
sprayed with either a rich bitumen emulsion or straight 200 pen bitumen
at a net rate of 1-1-1.5 1/m2. The composite is then rolled out either by
hand or by machine under light tension and brushed to ensure intimate
contact with the pavement. When the bitumen has fully cured and the
geotextile is fully stuck down, mechanical paving can commence. Due to
the high bond strength between the geogrid and the geotextile in the
composite, the geogrid is held down sufficiently during paving by normal
paving equipment.
Several trial installations of this patented use of geosynthetics have been
carried out in many countries using bitumen emulsions, polymer modified
emulsions and straight bitumen. In these full scale trial pavement instal-
lations, cores have been taken which have confirmed the good bond
achieved between the reinforcing composite and the asphalt layers.

5 C U R R E N T RESEARCH

With the development of the composite reinforcement product a further

research programme commenced. Two main areas of research are being
re-evaluated at the University of Nottingham to assess the performance of
the composite material:
(i) performance of pavements with weak foundations;
(ii) control of reflective cracking.

5.1 Performance of pavements with weak foundations

5.1.1 Test method

The basic philosophy was to compare the performance of a reinforced

pavement under wheel loading in the pavement test facility with an
unreinforced or control pavement. The pavement test facility comprises a
1.2m deep pit which is 7m long and 2.4m wide and is spanned by a frame
housing a moving loaded wheel, Fig. 1. Wheel loads up to 15 kN with a
 Enhanced performance of asphalt pavements 179

Hydraulic Motor

0.56m dia Tyre/ v. ./

" 7.3m Pavement

Fig. I. Elevation on pavement test facility.

contact pressure of 760kPa can be generated. The previous tests by

Hughes (1986) were carried out over three test sections in series, i.e. a
control section, and the remaining two sections with the geogrid at the
bottom and in the middle of the bituminous layer, respectively. For the
repeat tests, three test sections were installed in the pit in the following
configuration:
(1) control section;
(2) composite at the middle of the asphalt layer;
(3) composite at the base of the asphalt layer.
A vertical section through the test pavement is shown in Fig. 2.

80mm of 14ram DBM Weaning Coarse

Geogrid /
15ram of 6mm Regulating Coar~ Composite
160ram of Type I Subbase
60ram of Soft Clay Subgrade

1.Ore of Keupar Marl Clay Subgrade

Fig. 2. Pavement construction for weak foundation test.

180 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilchrist

5.1.2 Pavement construction

The pit was permanently filled with approximately 1.1 m of a local Keuper
Marl subgrade made from compacted wet clay bricks and the final level
was controlled to give the required height and CBR by replacing or adding
bricks and controlling the moisture content. A single pressure cell per test
section was pressed into the subgrade clay centrally in the wheel track to
20 m m below the surface, prior to placing of the sub-base layer.
A 15 m m thick regulating course of 6 m m asphalt was spread thinly over
the sub-base on all sections to provide an overall seal and a suitable
surface for tack coating on the composite section. A tack coat of bitumen
emulsion was applied at the rate of 1.5 l/m 2 and the composite brushed
into the tack coat and left to cure. A 40ram layer of 14mm dense bitumen
m a c a d a m (DBM) wearing course was placed and compacted. Following
compaction of the first 40ram layer, the composite in the mid asphalt
position was placed following the same procedure and the second bitumi-
nous layer placed and fully compacted.

5.1.3 Loading

A 300mm wide strip centred on each wheel track was painted white so
that any cracks developed during wheel loading would be visible and
initial surface profiles were taken relative to longitudinal reference beams
on either side of the test pit.
The pavement was tested with the wheel running in single track mode at
a wheel load of 6 k N and contact pressure of approximately 300kPa.
Surface profiles were taken at regular intervals. The single track mode was
chosen because it is a concentrated load leading to a more rapid defor-
mation of the pavement. T h r o u g h o u t the test, subgrade stress readings
were taken from the pressure cells. The test was continued for 25,000
passes o f the wheel load.

5.1.4 Results

Dejormation. A fundamental indicator of the performance of each test

section is the deformation in the wheel track. The results from an average of
three readings down the length of each test section are shown in Fig. 3. In all
cases there was an immediate deformation increase at the start of the test as
all layers compact under the action of the wheel, which was seen to deflect
the pavement when running. Deformation then continued at a slower rate as
rutting developed, i.e. material 'flows' and was characterized by shoulders
on either side of the wheel track. In these circumstances, where the pavement
 Enhanced performance of asphalt pavements 181

Average Surface Deformation (mm)

50 r r [
-o-Control Section [ I i
,o-AR-G at Mid D e p t h L / i!' )
40 AR-G at Base of Asphalt ~_ ~_._ ./._

30

20

10
i

o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I .... +~,,
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Number of Wheel Passes (x 1000)
Fig. 3. Average surface d e f o r m a t i o n vs n u m b e r of passes.

had been deliberately weakened by using a soft subgrade, failure was defined
as the point at which the wheel track visibly sheared along each side. This
occurred for the control section at 24,000 passes. Figure 4 shows the test
section surface profiles at the end of trafficking.

Rut Depth (mm)

-20
r

J
-40

-60 J
v t

I
- -

j I
j J
i
-80 i

I
J
l I
Control Section 41.)AR-G at Mid LDcpth -/~ AR-G at Base of Asphalt I
-I00
-300 -200 - 100 0 100 200 300
Fig. 4. R u t profiles after 25,000 wheel passes.
182 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilehrist

TABLE 1
Summary of Average Rut Depths for Weak Foundation Test
Test seetion Rut depth (rnm) Rut depth~control rut
depth
Control 60 1.0
Composite in middle of asphalt layer 48 0-80
Composite at base of asphalt layer 20 0.33

The results of the rut depth measurements are summarized in Table 1,

which shows that the effect of the composite at the base of the asphalt
layer was to reduce the rut depth to a third of that for the control section.
The test section with the composite at the bottom of the bituminous layer
showed the best performance throughout and although larger deforma-
tions were observed for the composite in the middle of the layer, side wall
cracking in the wheel track was considerably less than in the control. This
type of cracking is inevitable once a significant (say 2 5 m m ) rut has
developed as the asphalt surface tensile strain limits are exceeded.
S u b g r a d e s t r e s s e s . Subgrade stresses were measured with pressure cells
of the strain gauged diaphragm type. The results in Fig. 5 show the read-
ings initially at a r o u n d 40 kPa, which gradually increase as the subgrade
becomes more stressed due to deterioration of the bituminous layer. This
effect is more noticeable for the control test section, indicating the rein-
forcing effect of the composite.

Subgrade Stress (kPa)

100
-O-Control 'Section ! r

80 I•O-AR-G at Mid Depth I i /

60

40

i
20

0 t t ~ , i t i t t ! : t i i i ] t i ,

0 10 15 20 25 30
Number o f Wheel Passes (x 1000)
Fig. 5. Subgrade stress vs number of wheel passes.
 Enhanced per.[brmance of asphalt pavements 183

5.1.5 Summary of weak foundation testing

(l) By using a soft formation, substantial surface rutting was achieved in

a relatively short time period.
(2) The control section failed, with substantial cracking adjacent to the
rut. The section with the composite at the bottom of the asphalt layer
gave the lowest rut depth, whilst the section with the composite in the
middle of the asphalt layer also gave better performance than the
control section.
(3) The stress measurements in the subgrade generally showed expected
trends during the test although their absolute value was higher than
expected.

5.2 Control of reflective cracking

5.2.1 Testing procedure and specimen construction

Improved performance against reflective cracking was investigated using

a series of slabs trafficked by a moving wheel load over a rubber
support. The beams, 1.0m long x 0 - 2 m wide x 0 - 0 8 m thick were
constructed as shown in Fig. 6. The slabs were tack coated to a plywood
support with a 10 m m g a p m a i n t a i n e d in the support to initiate cracking
in the slab.
In the test rig, Fig. 7, the plywood supports rested on a rubber sheet to
allow the slab to flex during trafficking. Strain measuring transducers
were fixed to the edge of the slab to allow strain monitoring as the speci-
mens were loaded.
The slabs were trafficked with a wheel load of 3 kN, with load and
strain being continually monitored. The wheel loading on the slab caused
a repeated opening and closing of the gap between the plywood supports,
which generated a cyclic maximum tensile strain in the sandsheet. This
caused a crack to develop at the edge of the gap which propagated
through this section.

60mm Thick Layer of 14mm DBM

Geogrid /
Composite

Plywood base
20mm Thick Sandsheet
10mm Gap Rul
Fig. 6. Slab construction.
184 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilchrist

3.7m I
Motor I

f ~ Load cell
t ~. 1.22m _

Fig. 7. Slab test rig.

5.2.2 Results o f re[lective cracking testing

The results of the slab testing are summarized in Table 2. The control slab
became severely cracked at an early stage in the testing, with cracks
propagating across the sandsheet/DBM interface by 1700 passes. Crack
growth continued rapidly until the slab was completely cracked through
by 3300 passes.
For the geogrid reinforced slab the crack propagated through the
sandsheet at 4500 passes. The crack then travelled to 5ram above the
geogrid level and stopped at this position until 7600 passes. After 13,000
passes the slab became cracked through due to the crack propagating
from the base of the slab joining the surface crack. The surface crack had
been caused by a rocking movement of the slab as the wheel moved on
and off the slab at the end of its travel.
For the composite reinforced slab, the sandsheet cracked through at
4600 passes. This crack widened, but did not transfer into the DBM until
12,700 passes had been completed. At 18,900 passes a surface crack

TABLE 2
Summary of Slab Test Results
Number of wheel passes
Slab type Crack through sandsheet Crack through slab
Control 1700 3300
Geogrid 4500 13,000
Composite 4600 25,000
 Enhanced performance of asphalt pavements 185

developed which eventually met the base crack at 25,000 passes. Traffick-
ing continued to 30,000 passes, with still only a very fine crack visible in
the DBM layer and a value of 2500 microstrain recorded.

5.2.3 Summary of slab testing

The installation of the geogrid into the slab improved the crack resistance
of the slab under a moving wheel load with reference to the control slab,
which became severely cracked. This had been observed before by Brown
(1985b), as well as the fact that even when a crack propagates through a
geogrid reinforced beam it still retains its structural integrity. The addition
of the geotextile to the geogrid to form the composite further improved
reflective crack resistance.
At the end of the test it was observed that the composite debonded from
the sandsheet for about 150mm either side of the gap. It is thought that
the composite may control cracking through this mechanism, rather than
strengthening the interface.

6 CASE STUDY

The B3004 road in Hampshire, England, carries heavy local traffic over
soft saturated ground on low embankments. Failure of the existing surfa-
cing had been caused by geotechnical failure of the subgrade leading to the
formation of a longitudinal crack along the centre of the lane with
evidence of both lateral and vertical deformation. In 1991, a hot rolled
asphalt overlay was laid on the road in three sections, two of which were
reinforced using proprietary systems and one of which was left as an
unreinforced control section.
The existing road surface was first regulated with fine asphalt to a
thickness of 30mm. Bitumen emulsion was then sprayed at a rate of 1.5 1/
m ~ and Tensar AR-G composite immediately rolled out as the emulsion
cured. To ensure full curing of the emulsion, vigorous brushing of the
composite into the emulsion was then carried out.
The other proprietary system involved the use of a self-adhesive woven
geogrid which was installed directly onto the regulated surface.
When the bitumen had fully cured, 40mm of hot rolled asphalt was
overlaid by a conventional paver at a maximum temperature of 165~C. No
evidence of movement of the composite was detected during paving.
The site has now been open to traffic for over three years and although
the control and the section containing the self-adhesive woven geogrid are
186 R. A. Austin, A. J. T. Gilchrist

displaying severe cracking coincident with the original crack, there is no

evidence of any cracking in the section reinforced with the geogrid/
geotextile composite material.

7 CONCLUSIONS

(1) Tensar ARI polypropylene geogrid and AR-G geogrid/geotextile

composite materials are suitable for the effective reinforcement of
asphalt layers in pavements and appropriate installation techniques
have been developed.
(2) Pavements reinforced with either the geogrid or the composite show
considerably improved performance with respect to surface defor-
mation.
(3) When installed immediately above an existing jointed or cracked
surface prior to the application of an asphaltic overlay, effective
resistance to reflective cracking is provided.
(4) The geogrid/geotextile composite is able to resist large horizontal
strains that develop in the bituminous material at the level of the
geogrid. This is of particular value on roads with weak or unstable
sub-grades.
(5) For pavements over soft formations, subgrade stresses are reduced
by the inclusion of the reinforcing composite in the bound layers of
the pavement.
(6) Both the geogrid and the geogrid/geotextile composite are resistant
to normal asphalt paving temperatures.

REFERENCES

Brown, S. F., Brunton, J. M., Hughes, D. A. B. & Broderick, B. V. (1985a).

Polymer grid reinforcement of asphalt. Annual Meeting of the Association of
Asphalt Paving Technologists, San Antonio, Texas.
Brown, S. F., Hughes, D. A. B. & Broderick, B. V. (1985b). The use of polymer
grids for improved asphalt performance. Eurobitume Conference, The
Hague, Netherlands.
Hughes, D. A. B. (1986). Polymer grid reinforcement of asphalt pavements. PhD
thesis, University of Nottingham, UK.
Nunn, M. E. & Potter, .I.F. (1993). Assessment of methods to prevent reflection
cracking. In Proceedings o f the Second International R I L E M Conference,
Liege, Belgium.