Effects of Traffic Loading Magnitude and Frequency on the Performance of GeocellReinforced Flexible Pavements

Geocell, a three-dimensional geosynthetic product made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), can provide additional confinement for the base aggregate material. The base layer of a flexible pavement plays a key role by distributing the traffic load from the surface layer to the underneath weaker subgrade layer. This study aims to evaluate the performance of geocellreinforced flexible pavement sections based on an automated plate load test (APLT). Three geocell-reinforced pavement sections were constructed on a farm to market road near Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Texas, by replacing the existing crushed stone base layer with geocell-reinforced, recycled asphalt pavement base layer of 150 mm, 200 mm, and 300 mm thickness. APLT tests were conducted on the newly constructed reinforced sections and the existing roadway sections. Each APLT test had 504 cycles with three different magnitudes: 344.7, 689.5, and 1034.2 MPa, and three different frequencies: 0.1, 1.0, and 2.0 Hz. The results obtained from APLT showed that the permanent deformation of the base layer decreased with an increase in the geocell layer thickness. An increase in frequency from 0.1 Hz to 2.0 Hz decreased the resilient deformation by 23.8%, 25.8%, and 27.8% for 150 mm, 200 mm, and 300 mm geocell-reinforced sections, respectively. Furthermore, the surface modulus of the reinforced section increased significantly with the increase in frequency and the thickness of the geocell-reinforced sections.