Laboratory performance of unpaved roads reinforced with woven coir geotextiles

Abstract The results of an experimental study conducted to investigate the beneficial use of woven coir geotextiles as reinforcing material in a two-layer pavement section, are presented. Monotonic and repeated loads were applied on reinforced and unreinforced laboratory pavement sections through a rigid circular plate. The effects of placement position and stiffness of geotextile on the performance of reinforced sections were investigated using two base course thicknesses and two types of woven coir geotextiles. The test results indicate that the inclusion of coir geotextiles enhanced the bearing capacity of thin sections. Placement of geotextile at the interface of the subgrade and base course increased the load carrying capacity significantly at large deformations. Considerable improvement in bearing capacity was observed when coir geotextile was placed within the base course at all levels of deformations. The plastic surface deformation under repeated loading was greatly reduced by the inclusion of coir geotextiles within the base course irrespective of base course thickness. The optimum placement position of coir geotextile was found to be within the base course at a depth of one-third of the plate diameter below the surface.

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