Large scale trial evaluation of granular layers reinforced with geocells

Abstract

Geocells are three-dimensional geosynthetics made up of interconnected cells that confine the granular materials embedded in them. This confinement generates an increase in the rigidity and a decrease in the deformability of the reinforced layer, allowing for better performance of the pavement and optimization of non-renewable stone materials in transport infrastructure reinforcement applications. This study presents a full-scale test that consisted in the construction of a full-scale field with the aim of evaluating the behavior of granular materials with and without geocell reinforcement in transportation infrastructure. The experimental full-scale field is made up of five sections, the structure of this unpaved road consists of two layers of granular subbase material reinforced with two different geocells located at different depths, these layers are built on a clayey subgrade of low capacity. Material characterization tests were carried out and the subgrade and granular layers were subjected to measurements with the Benkelman Beam. Results from field measurements indicate that geocell reinforcement can reduce deflections at the top of granular layers and the MIF (Modulus Improvement Factor) can be calculated for the different geocells. The test results indicate that inclusion of geocell reinforcement significantly improves the rutting resistance and stability of reinforced test sections compared to the unreinforced test section.