Flexural fatigue behaviour of geogrid reinforced concrete pavements

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of geogrid reinforcement on the flexural fatigue behaviour of concrete pavements subjected to cyclic loads. Fifteen-notched concrete beam specimens with the dimensions of 150 × 150 × 550 mm were either unreinforced, reinforced with a single or a double geogrid layer. The geogrid was placed at a depth of 55 mm from the bottom of the specimen. The specimens were tested under cyclic four-point bending loads at a frequency of 7 Hz. Test results illustrate that significant improvement was achieved in the flexural strength and fracture energy of the concrete specimens reinforced with geogrid. Geogrid reinforced concrete specimens exhibited high resistance of crack mouth opening displacements. Reinforcing concrete specimens with a double geogrid layer significantly prolonged the cyclic life of the specimens. An equation for designing concrete pavements subjected to cyclic loads was developed.