Experimental study aimed at highlighting warnings for proper design, construction and control of geocomposite-reinforced asphalt pavements

The proper use of interlayers in asphalt pavements can be an effective and economic option to enhance their service life. However, the presence of a foreign element at the interface should be properly taken into account during design, construction and control of reinforced pavements. Given this background, the present laboratory study investigated stiffness and interface bonding properties of reinforced asphalt systems in order to achieve fundamental information for a correct design as well as proper construction and control of reinforced pavements. To accomplish this objective, different composite reinforcements (grids/fabrics embedded in bituminous membranes) were studied as interlayers of double-layered systems prepared with both traditional and polymer-modified asphalt concretes. Dynamic flexural tests and static interface shear tests were carried out. Unreinforced reference systems was also studied for comparison purposes. Results confirmed the abovementioned warnings that will allow delineating some preliminary guidelines related to the use of reinforcements in pavements.