Numerical Simulation of Geosynthetic-Reinforced Flexible Pavements

In traditional analyses of flexible pavements the linear elastic material behavior is assumed for pavement materials. However, pavement materials do not behave as linear elastic materials. They can be better modeled by using elasto-plastic constitutive relationships. The consequences of the assumption of linear elasticity in the prediction of the behavior of geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavements are presented. The effect of the stiffness of geosynthetic reinforcements on pavement behavior is also studied. The behavior of a geosynthetic-reinforced flexible pavement is analyzed by the finite-element method with different constitutive models. The results of six analyses where E is Young's modulus [Case 1, linear elastic models with geosynthetics (Case 1a, E = 1 GPa; Case Ib, E = 100 GPa); Case 2, linear elastic models without geosynthetics; Case 3, elasto-plastic models with geosynthetics (Case 3a, E = 1 GPa; Case 3b, E = 100 GPa); and Case 4, elasto-plastic models without geosynthetics on the same pave...