Flexural Performance of Cement-Treated Sand Reinforced with Geogrids for Use as Sub-Bases of Pavement and Railway Structures

Cement-treated sand (CTS) exhibits undesirable brittle behavior after the applied stress reaches its peak strength. This research investigates the flexural behavior of CTS that is reinforced with uniaxial geogrid (CTSG). A total of 6% cement content was mixed with sand. Uniaxial geogrids with three different strengths were utilized to create the CTSG samples. The number of reinforcement layers, including single and double reinforcements, was studied. The image processing method was applied to analyze the surface cracks in the specimens. The results show that the geogrid type and the number of reinforcement layers affect the flexural behavior of the CTSG. Geogrid reinforcement changed the behavior of the CTS from a brittle material to a semi-brittle or ductile material because the residual tensile stresses were carried by the geogrids. The high-strength geogrid with a double reinforcement layer proved to be most effective in enhancing the peak strength and toughness with improvement ratios of 1.80 and 11.7, respectively. Single and double reinforcement layers with all geogrid types can reduce surface cracks with average crack reduction ratios of 64% and 83%, respectively. The CTSG can be successfully used as a sub-base layer to increase flexural performance and the lifetime of pavement and railway structures.     

Effects of Particle Size on the Shear Behavior of Coarse Grained Soils Reinforced with Geogrid

In order to design civil structures that are supported by soils, the shear strength parameters of soils are required. Due to the large particle size of coarse-grained soils, large direct shear tests should be performed. In this study, large direct shear tests on three types of coarse grained soils (4.5 mm, 7.9 mm, and 15.9 mm) were performed to evaluate the effects of particle size on the shear behavior of coarse grained soils with/without geogrid reinforcements. Based on the direct shear test results, it was found that, in the case of no-reinforcement, the larger the maximum particle size became, the larger the friction angle was. Compared with the no-reinforcement case, the cases reinforced with either soft geogrid or stiff geogrid have smaller friction angles. The cohesion of the soil reinforced with stiff geogrid was larger than that of the soil reinforced with soft geogrid. The difference in the shear strength occurs because the case with a stiff geogrid has more soil to geogrid contact area, leading to the reduction in interlocking between soil particles.     

Recycled Polyester Geosynthetic Influence on Improvement of Road and Railway Subgrade Bearing Capacity—Laboratory Investigations

After years of using geosynthetics in civil engineering and infrastructure construction, it has recently become necessary to consider the possibility of recycling and reusing these materials. This paper presents the results of laboratory tests of the effect of recycled geogrid on the bearing capacity of soils using a CBR test. A polyester geosynthetic was selected for testing due to its high resistance to biodegradation and wide application. In a series of laboratory tests, two types of road and railway subgrade were used, mixed with geosynthetic cuttings in two different weight concentrations. The aim of the research was to demonstrate whether old demolition geosynthetics could be used to strengthen road and rail subgrade as recycled material. The influence of the geosynthetic cutting shape was also considered. The obtained results confirm the possibility of using recycled geogrid to improve the bearing capacity of the pavement subgrade, at least under these laboratory conditions. In the case of sand, the use of 2.0% additive causes that the poorly compacted soil obtains sufficient bearing capacity for the layer of road improved subgrade. As expected, the level of this improvement depends on the type of soil and the shape of geogrid cuttings.     

Feasibility Study on the Steel-Plastic Geogrid Instead of Wire Mesh for Bolt Mesh Supporting

Wire mesh is a common material for bolt mesh supporting structures, but its application in engineering has revealed many defects. At the same time, with the development of new materials for civil engineering, the new material mesh performance and cost show outstanding advantages over wire mesh. In this paper, the feasibility of replacing wire mesh with steel-plastic geogrid as an alternative material is carefully studied through indoor tests and field applications. The following conclusions were drawn from a comparative analysis with wire mesh, mainly in terms of mechanical properties, engineering characteristics, and construction techniques: (1) in terms of mesh wire strength, wire mesh is slightly better than steel-plastic geogrid, but in the case of similar tensile strength, the amount of steel used per unit length of steel geogrid bars is only 36.75% of that of steel-plastic geogrid, while the tensile strength of the high-strength steel wire attached to the steel-plastic geogrid belt is about 3.3 times that of steel bars; (2) in terms of junction peel strength, both values are similar, with the injection-moulded junction being 1154.56–1224.38 N and the welded junction of 4 mm mesh being 988.35 N; (3) in terms of the strength of the mesh, steel-plastic geogrid is better than wire mesh, and with the same mesh wire strength, the bearing capacity of steel-plastic geogrid is increased by about 63.17% and the contribution of the mesh wire bearing capacity is increased by 83.66%, with the damage mainly being in the form of wire breakage in the ribbon causing ribbon failure, leading to further damage to the mesh; (4) in terms of the engineering application of steel-plastic geogrid compared to wire mesh, the utilization rate of mesh increases by about 24.99%, the construction efficiency increases by about 14.10%, and the economic benefit increases by about 45.31%. In practical application, the steel-plastic geogrid has good adhesion with surrounding rock and strong corrosion resistance. According to the above research analysis, the steel-plastic geogrid is feasible to replace the wire mesh for bolt mesh supporting.     

卫生填埋场加高扩建中土工格栅加筋应用分析

介绍了垃圾卫生填埋场在竖向扩建时土工格栅加筋设计的原理及其设计步骤,结合工程实例进行了应用分析,并提出了中间防渗衬垫系统的优化结构。     

Fatigue Performance of Double-Layered Asphalt Concrete Beams Reinforced with New Type of Geocomposites

The reinforcement of asphalt layers with geosynthetics has been used for several decades, but proper evaluation of the influence of these materials on pavement fatigue life is still a challenging task. The presented study investigates a novel approach to the reinforcement of asphalt layers using a new type of geogrid composite, in which square or hexagonal polypropylene stiff monolithic paving grid with integral junctions is bonded to polypropylene non-woven paving fabric. The laboratory fatigue tests were performed on large asphalt concrete beams reinforced with the new type of geocomposite. Unreinforced samples were used as reference. Test results were analysed in several aspects, including the standardised approach based on stiffness reduction, but also using energy dissipation. The effect of reinforcement on pavement fatigue life was also estimated. Based on the obtained final results of fatigue life calculations, it can be concluded that the evaluated geogrid composites have an evident positive effect on pavement performance and have a significant potential to extend the overall pavement life, especially in the case of hexagonal grid.     

Flexural Performance and Toughness Characteristics of Geogrid-Reinforced Pervious Concrete with Different Aggregate Sizes

Pervious concrete is an environmentally friendly paving material to reduce surface runoff in urban construction. However, due to low flexural strength and cracking susceptibility caused by the high porosity, pervious concrete is only used in low-volume traffic roadways and parking lots for current service. This study investigated the permeability, strength, and flexural performance of pervious concrete with different coarse aggregate size, geogrid position, and geogrid layer number. Test results indicate that the geogrid placed at an appropriate position in pervious concrete improved the permeability and compressive strength. Four-point bending tests were conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the flexural performance and toughness characteristics of pervious concrete beam. Meanwhile, this study also proposed a new evaluation method to distinguish the contribution of geogrids and concrete mixture to the flexural toughness of pervious concrete beam at the pre-peak and post-peak stages by two toughness indices. Test results indicate that geogrids improved the flexural strength, deformability, and energy absorption capability of pervious concrete beam. The geogrids placed at both one-third and two-thirds of the heights of pervious concrete beam resulted in the optimum flexural performance. Besides, the small size (5–10 mm) aggregates were conducive to providing high flexural strength for the geogrid-reinforced pervious concrete beam, while the large size (10–15 mm) aggregates played a significant role in obtaining noteworthy post-cracking performance.