Influence of reinforcement geosynthetics on flexion behaviour of double-layer bituminous systems

ABSTRACT: High performance materials, like geosynthetics, have to be analysed in order to determine whether these products act as reinforcement and enable longer pavement durability. A new research project on fatigue investigations of reinforced asphalt pavement is in progress at the Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy) and the results presented in this paper are part of the overall experimental program. In particular, the purpose of the present work is to compare three reinforcement systems and to understand the corresponding fatigue behaviour under controlled deflection and controlled load modes. To this end, double layered prismatic specimens have been used to perform four point bending fatigue tests. Test results have been elaborated considering the following approaches: − dissipated energy for controlled deflection mode; − number of cycles of applied load to failure for controlled load mode. Both test methods have shown improved fatigue life for reinforced systems compared with the unreinforced one.