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EFFECT OF GEOGRID REINFORCEMENT ON CRITICAL

RESPONSES OF BITUMINOUS PAVEMENTS
Satish Pandey, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, India
K. Ramachandra Rao, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Devesh Tiwari, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, India
ABSTRACT
A series of finite element (FE) simulations are carried out to evaluate the benefits of integrating a
high modulus geogrid as reinforcement into the pavement layers. This paper presents a two
dimensional axisymmetric finite element model that analyzes the behavior of unreinforced and
geogrid reinforced bituminous pavement subjected to static and dynamic loading conditions. The
critical pavement responses such as fatigue (horizontal) strain, rutting (vertical) strain and vertical
surface deflection are calculated for unreinforced and geogrid reinforced flexible pavement using a
pavement response model developed through a commercially available finite element program
PLAXIS. Parametric studies are performed by varying the location of geogrid reinforcement i.e.
base bituminous concrete interface and the base sub-grade interface. The structural benefits of
geogrid reinforcement over fatigue and rutting strain criteria have been quantified. The results
obtained are qualitatively compared with the results of published literature and fairly good
agreement is found in fatigue and rutting strains in the reinforced pavement. It has been found that
placing geogrid reinforcement at the base-bituminous concrete interface leads to the highest
reduction in fatigue (horizontal) strain. The highest decrease of vertical strain occurs when the
reinforcement is placed at the interface of base and sub grade layers.
Keywords: Finite Element Analysis; Flexible pavement; Geogrid; Reinforced pavement; Bituminous
concrete; Dynamic loading

INTRODUCTION
A large variety of detrimental factors affect the service life of flexible pavement. These factors
include environmental factors affecting properties of pavement material, sub grade conditions, traffic
loading, aging etc. All these factors cause an equally wide variety of distress which is manifested in
the form of fatigue, rutting, differential settlement and reflective cracks in pavement. The
fundamental objective of pavement design is to prolong the service life of a pavement structure and
thus reducing the life-cycle cost. In the last few decades, geosynthetic reinforcement, particularly
high modulus polymeric geogrid, have been increasingly utilized within pavement layers to improve
the structural performance of both, newly constructed and rehabilitated flexible pavement. A biaxial
extruded polymer geogrid consisting connected parallel sets of tensile ribs (with apertures of
sufficient size to allow strike-through of the surrounding soil, stone, or other geotechnical material),
offer confinement to the aggregate material used in pavement layers. It restricts lateral flow of
pavement layers materials during loading. Most of the aggregates used in pavement structure are
stress-dependent materials, improved lateral confinement results in an increase in the modulus of
the base course material. The effect of increased modulus of the base course is improved vertical
stress distribution on subgrade and a corresponding reduction in the vertical strain on top of the
subgrade. Besides reducing the rutting strain, geogrids also resist fatigue (horizontal) strain through
the tensioned membrane effect, induced in the bituminous concrete layer.

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Finite element analysis can handle complex geometry, different boundary conditions and material
properties with ease. Extensive research has been carried out to model flexible pavements using
finite element analysis techniques, with defined boundary conditions, under static and dynamic
loading. In the present study a finite element program, PLAXIS, which has proved its efficacy in
geotechnical application (Kazemien et al. 2010), is used to model the unreinforced and geogrid
reinforced flexible pavement. The finite element method is validated by comparing the results
obtained through a linear elastic layer based program KENLAYER. The aim of this paper is to
investigate the benefits provided by geogrid reinforcement to the fatigue and rutting resistance of a
flexible pavement system in conjunction with pavement design life.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Numerous researchers studied the impact of geosynthetic reinforcement over structural
performance of paved roads through laboratory, field, and numerical modelling methods. Laboratory
experiments carried out by Haas (1984), under cyclic loading condition showed a considerable
reduction of about 30% in the maximum horizontal tensile strain transmitted underneath of the
asphalt-concrete (AC) layer and 20 % to 40% reduction in the maximum vertical compressive stress
at the top of subgrade, as a result of placing polymeric grid at the bottom of the AC layer of varying
thickness. The influence of the geogrid location over fatigue and rutting strain were not studied.
Barksdale, Brown and Chan (1989) compared the structural performance of unreinforced and
geogrid reinforced pavement subjected on cyclic loading condition through laboratory
experimentation. Performance characterization of the unreinforced and geogrid reinforced
pavement was carried out on the basis vertical permanent deformation. The results of the study
indicated that for a stronger pavement, the stiff geogrid at the bottom of the granular base did not
produce any significant improvement. Their results further indicated that placing the geogrid in the
middle and bottom of the base layers, despite its lower stiffness, resulted in better performance
against permanent deformation than the use of a geotextile. Numerical simulation carried out by
them using finite element analysis techniques showed that the benefits of geosynthetic
reinforcements are more pronounced for weaker subgrades.
Virgile et al. (2009) studied the flexural behavior of bi-layer bituminous system reinforced with
geogrid (polyester and glass fiber) through laboratory experiments. All bi-layer bituminous systems
were tested by means of a four-point bending test under repeated loading cycles. The failure
criterion was defined as the number of loading cycles corresponding to the flex point of the
permanent deformation evolution, i.e. where the permanent deformation evolution inverts it trend
(from decreasing to increasing rate). Geogrid was placed at the interface of bituminous layer. The
laboratory study showed that the reinforced system improved the resistance to repeated load cycles
by 66% to 100 % and delayed the inversion from decreasing to increasing rate of the permanent
deformation evolution curve. However, this study did not include the effect of geogrids on fatigue
resistance of asphalt layers.
Dondi (1994) used the finite element program ABAQUS to model a geosynthetic reinforced flexible
pavement. Three dimensional static analysis was carried out using linear and non linear constitutive
material models. Bituminous concrete layer and geosynthetic reinforcement were modeled using a
linear elastic material model based on Hooks law while Drucker-Prager and Cam Clay material
models were used to model base course and subgrade layers. The results of their study indicated
15-20% reduction in vertical displacement under the load in reinforced section and 2-2.5 times
increase in fatigue life of reinforced sections compared to unreinforced sections. Another example
of a finite element study on a geosynthetic reinforced flexible pavement is that conducted by
Wathugala, Huang and Pal (1996). They used the ABAQUS finite element program to explore the
decrease in the permanent deformation as a result of placing geosynthetic membrane at the
base-subgrade interface of a flexible pavement system. An axisymmetric analysis was adopted in
their simulations which introduced the hierarchical single surface (HiSS) model for subgrade. The
asphalt concrete and the crushed stone base layers were modeled by Drucker-Prager material. No
special interface models were used between the geogrid and the surrounding soil. The inclusion of

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the geogrid reduced the permanent deformation by approximately 20% for a single cycle of load.
Moayedi et al. (2009) studied the effect of geogrid reinforcement location in paved road
improvement using axisymmetric pavement response model developed through the finite element
program PLAXIS. Bituminous concrete layer and geogrid were modeled as a linear elastic isotropic
material while the Moho-Coulomb material model was used to simulate granular layers. Pavement
responses were determined under static loading condition. They showed that the geosynthetic
reinforcement placed at the bottom of bituminous concrete layer leads to the highest reduction in
vertical pavement deflection.
Some researchers believe that geogrid should be placed at the top of base course while others
have found that geogrid should be placed at the base subgrade interface. Considerable variation
in fatigue and rutting resistance of geogrid reinforced pavement has been found under static and
dynamic loading conditions in the literature. Studies quantifying the effect of geogrid reinforcement
over pavement design life under varying axle load are still an area for further research.

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Flexible pavements in India are designed on the basis of California bearing ratio of soil subgrade
and traffic loading. Indian Roads Congress code entitled Guideline for the Design of Flexible
Pavement (IRC:37:2001) is used in the present study to find out the layer composition and overall
pavement thickness for the soil subgrade of 7% C.B.R value and cumulative traffic loading of
10 million standard axles (msa), during the design life. The pavement is modeled as a multilayer
structure of linear elastic material subjected to circular loading of static and dynamic conditions.
Bituminous Concrete (BC) and Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM) have been clubbed together
and considered as a single layer for finite element modeling. Two dimensional axisymmetric
pavement response models are developed for unreinforced and geogrid reinforced pavement using
commercially available finite element program PLAXIS. Various researchers Moayedi et al. (2009),
Kazemien et al. (2010), Howard and Warren (2009), have also used axisymmetric modeling and it
was selected because it could simulate circular loading and did not require excessive computational
time under dynamic loading conditions. A typical axisymmetric pavement response model has been
shown in Figure 1 with their material layers and boundary conditions in Figure 2. Physical and
mechanistic properties of the pavement response model are given in Table 1.

Figure 1: Axisymmetric finite element model

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Figure 2: Material layers and boundary conditions for axisymmetric finite element model

Table 1: Parameters used in axisymmetric finite element modelling

Section

Thickness
(mm)

Unit wt.
(kN/m3)

Youngs
modulus E
(MPa)

Poissons
ratio ()

Rayleigh
damping
coefficients

Material
properties

R ,R

Bituminous layer
(40 BC+60
DBM)

100

22.8

2579

0.3

0.9659,
0.00021

Isotropic
and linear
elastic

Granular base

480

21.2

196

0.35

0.9402,
0.00032

Isotropic
and linear
elastic

Sub grade

6420

19.6

61

0.4

0.7356,
0.00061

Isotropic
and linear
elastic

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Boundary conditions and meshing criteria

Conventional kinematic boundary conditions have been adopted, i.e. roller support on all vertical
boundaries of the mesh and fixed support at the bottom of the mesh. Such boundary conditions
have been successfully used by Saad, Mitri and Poorooshasb (2006) and Kazemien et al. (2010).
The modelled domain must be large enough to avoid any edge error. Domain size analysis is
carried out using PLAXIS program to find out the optimum size of pavement response model, which
yield desirable pavement responses with reasonable degree of accuracy. It has been found that
domain size exceeding 25 times the radius of contact area in horizontal direction and 35 times the
radius of contact area in vertical direction yield the critical pavement responses comparable with the
pavement responses obtained through elastic layered program KENLAYER. Accordingly pavement
response model of 5 m length in horizontal direction and 7 m in height in vertical direction has been
selected for axisymmetric analysis. When performing a dynamic analysis, it is also important to
choose a model size having dimensions covering a significant distance away from the vibration
source. This helps to avoid unwanted and unrealistic reflection of ground shock waves. Hence, to
avoid these spurious reflections, absorbent boundaries are applied at the bottom and right-hand
side boundary during dynamic analysis.
All natural systems subjected to moving loads show some degree of damping. In soils, damping is
mainly due to loss of energy resulting from internal friction in the material and viscous properties.
A dynamic analysis is more realistic than a static analysis. PLAXIS offers a dynamic analysis facility
for a problem in which inertia effects are important. Implicit direct integration is provided in the
PLAXIS to solve the equation of motion as shown in Equation (1)
(1)
Where M, C, K are the mass, damping and stiffness matrices. The displacement, u, the velocity
and acceleration vector, can vary with time. F(t) is the external load vector. Mathematically (1)
represents a system of linear differential equations of second order. In direct integration, the
equation is integrated using a numerical step-by-step procedure. For linear dynamic analysis
through PLAXIS Rayleigh damping parameters are used to introduce natural material damping.
Rayleigh damping term is defined as a damping matrix formed as a linear combination of the mass
and stiffness matrices as shown in Equation (2).

C = R x M + R. x K

(2)

Here R, and R are the Rayleigh coefficients. Rayleigh coefficients used in the present study are
given in Table 1. As the loading on the pavement surface is localized, the finest mesh is required
near the loaded area to capture the steep stress and strain gradient in these areas. The subdivision
is carried out so that the element aspect ratio remains close to one where the strain and stress
gradients are high to achieve faster convergence in these areas. Pavement layers are modelled
using 15-noded triangular elements. The geosynthetic reinforcement is modelled using 5-noded
triangular tension elements. Tension elements have the ability to carry loads in tension but have no
bending stiffness or ability to carry load in compression.

Material behaviour and constitutive laws

The contribution of the bituminous layer to surface rutting is dependent on the material properties.
In this research study, bituminous layer properties have been considered at 30 C temperature. At
this temperature, for a given load amplitude, the vertical permanent deformation of the bituminous
layer is considered to have insignificant contribution to the total surface deflection. Furthermore, a

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load affecting a structure, for a small time duration, which is the case in the present study, the
viscoelastic behaviour of the structure becomes almost equivalent to an elastic structure. Therefore,
for simplicity, the bituminous layer is treated as linear elastic.
Although the unbound granular materials are highly complex and definitely show non linear, stress
dependent, elastic behaviour, but for many purpose it is sufficient to assume a constant modulus. In
analysing a thick bituminous pavement under traffic load it is generally found that the system
behaviour is linear elastic as if the granular layer had a stiffness modulus of 100-150 MPa. Linear
elastic material model based on hooks law is considered for modelling of granular layers and
subgrade. Under low stress-strain conditions the linear elastic material model can reflect soil
behaviour with reasonable degree of accuracy. Material models for soils are generally expressed as
a relationship between infinitesimal increments of effective stress and infinitesimal increments of
strain. In such a relationship, infinitesimal increments of effective stress/effective strain are
represented by stress/ strain rates (with a dot above the stress/strain symbol). Linear elastic model
based on Hooks law in stiffness matrix form can be expressed through Equation (3):
(3)

where

effective stress in Cartesian coordinates

effective strain in Cartesian coordinates

shear strain

effective Young modulus

'

effective poisons ratio.

Based on research reviewed in literature by Saad, Mitri and Poorooshasb (2006), Kazemien et al.
(2010) and Perkins (2004) the constitutive laws were identified and implemented in the finite
element analyses of geosynthetic reinforced flexible pavement. In these studies the geosynthetic
reinforcement membrane is considered as an isotropic elastic material. Material models which
include components of plasticity, creep, and directional dependency of the high modulus
geosynthetic polymeric geogrid may be more realistic, however, these models require many
parameters for numerical simulation. Therefore in this study the geogrid is assumed to act as a
linear isotropic elastic material. Such a model proved efficient when used by other researchers; e.g.,
Ling and Liu (2003), Siriwardane et al. (2008). As the tension element does not take out of plane
shear, xz = zy = 0, the strains induced within the element can be obtained from the Equation (4):
(4)

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Full bonding between the geogrid and pavement layer is considered in the pavement response
model, since the biaxial geogrid got interlocked in the asphalt concrete [10]. In paved roads where
the allowed surface rutting is small, the chances of slippage are negligible unless excessive rutting
takes place [11]. Table 2 gives the mechanical properties of geogrid reinforcement.
Table 2: Mechanical properties of geogrid reinforcement
Material

Elastic axial stiffness (kN/m)

Poissons ratio

Geogrid

450

0.25

Loading condition
To model the surface load of the dual wheel the total load is transferred to the pavement surface
through an average contact pressure of 550 kPa as shown in Figure 1. The stiffening effect of the
tire wall is being neglected. The tire contact pressure on the road is equal to the tire inflation
pressure with a circular tyre imprint of 200 mm radius. Haversine stress pulse of 0.1 sec. duration
simulating an average speed of 30 km/h and peak pressure of 550 kPa is used to obtain dynamic
response at a given point in the pavement system (Figure 3). In reality the magnitude, shape, and
duration of such a pulse may vary with the stiffness of pavement, wheel load magnitude, its speed,
and the depth of the study point. The haversine pulse is widely used by many researchers to
simulate a moving load on pavement surface. Kazemien et al. (2010) evaluated the dynamic
response of multilayer pavement system using haversine load pulse of 0.03 sec duration. Loulizi et
al. (2002) showed that a haversine function provided a representative compressive stress pulse for
a moving vehicle and it can simulate Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) loading on pavement.
Saad, Mitri and Poorooshasb (2006) used transitive triangular load pulse of 0.1 sec. duration
corresponding to an average speed of around 20 mph (32.14 km/h) with a peak pressure 550 kPa.

Figure 3: Haversine load pulse of 0.1 sec. duration with a peak stress intensity of 550 kN/m2

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Convergence test of axisymmetric modelling

After defining the material properties and boundary conditions the finite element mesh is generated
(Figure 4). Local refinement is done to capture the stress/strain gradient around the pre defined
nodes on horizontal and axisymmetric axis. Convergence test of finite element model is important
because it confirms that a fine enough element discretization has been used to capture the desired
responses around the node of interest. The developed mesh after refinement contains 2260
elements and 18365 nodes. The axisymmetric finite element model for flexible pavement was
qualitatively validated by comparing the vertical displacement obtained under static analysis using
the PLAXIS program to those of KENLAYER program which provides the exact solution of the
multilayer according to the Burmister theory. Figure 5 shows the vertical displacements which vary
according to the depth obtained by two methods. Negligible differences (about 1% to 5%) in vertical
displacement were noticed, indicating the efficacy of the model in prediction of the pavement
responses.

Figure 4: Finite element mesh with 15-noded triangular elements

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Figure 5: Comparision of vertical displacement of PLAXIS and KENLAYER

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Parametric study is performed to find out the effect of geogrid location on structural performance of
flexible pavement system. Geogrid was placed at two locations separately i.e. at the interface of
bituminous layer and base course and between the sub grade and base course. Although geogrid is
provided on entire width of the carriageway but in present study it is provided up to 1.5 m horizontal
extent from axis of symmetry to study the reinforcement effect on horizontal strain. Critical
pavement responses i.e. fatigue strain, rutting strain and vertical surface deflection of unreinforced
and geogrid reinforced pavements are calculated under static and dynamic loading condition. The
fatigue and rutting strains, t
and c
are evaluated respectively, at bottom of the bituminous
layer (element 4) and top of subgrade (element 6). Table 3 gives the predicted response under
static and dynamic load. It is found that horizontal strain at the bottom of the bituminous layer under
dynamic loading condition is reduced by 14.96% when the geogrid is placed at the interface of
bituminous concrete and base course. Under static loading conditions a 22.35% reduction in fatigue
strain is found in geogrid reinforced pavement. The geogrid reinforcement placed at the bottom of
bituminous layer significantly contributes in absorbing the horizontal tensile strain induced at the
interface.
max

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Table 3: Fatigue and rutting strains predicted through finite element model
Type of pavement
(Geogrid location)

Under static load

Under dynamic load

(tmax).E-04

(cmax).E-04

(tmax).E-04

(cmax).E-04

Unreinforced pavement

-3.588

4.001

-3.081

4.412

Reinforced pavement
(top of base)

-2.786

3.923

- 2.620

4.123

Reinforced pavement
(bottom of base)

-3.557

3.453

-3.001

3.891

Distinct reduction in horizontal strain underneath the bituminous layer from the load centerline is
found till 1.5 m horizontal extent as shown in Figure 6. No substantial reduction in residual vertical
surface deflection underneath the load is found in unreinforced and geosynthetic reinforced
pavement (Figure 7). Marginal difference in vertical strain on top of subgrade is noticed while
geogrid is placed at the interface of bituminous concrete and base course. However vertical strain
on top of subgrade is reduced by 11.80% when geogrid is placed at the top of subgrade.

Figure 6: Fatigue strain under 140 kN axle weight under dynamic load

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Figure 7: Residual vertical displacement in unreinforced and reinforced pavement

Figure 8: Fatigue damage ratio in unreinforced and reinforced pavement (geogid is placed at
the top of the base course)

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Comparison of results trend

Results obtained from this study are quantitatively compared with the results of published literatures
summarized earlier under the literature review section of this paper. Fairly good agreement is found
between fatigue strain (t
) reduction (22.35% under static loading) obtained in this study by
placing the geogrid at the interface of bituminous layer and base course and the results reported by
Dondi (1994) which adopts almost same pavement response model and constitutive laws, shows
the remarkable reduction in fatigue strain (20%) after using the geogrid reinforcement in pavement
foundation. Under dynamic loading condition Saad, Mitri and Poorooshasb (2006) reported that in
max

case of strong base the best location of geogrid for reduction of rutting strain (c ) is at the
base-subgrade interface which leads to the 14% reduction in rutting strain at peak load time. When
the geogrid was placed above the subgrade in the present study rutting strain got reduced by
11.80%. Similar trend of results have been reported by Wathugala, Huang and Pal (1996), Moayedi
et al. (2009) and Kazemian et al. (2010).
max

Impact on fatigue and rutting life

Field observations for evaluation of pavement surface conditions of roads network in India, showed
that, rutting and fatigue cracking are the most important pavement distresses due to high severity
and density levels, and accordingly their high effects on the pavement condition. Cracking in the
bituminous layer is due to fatigue, caused by repeated application of load by moving traffic. Rutting
is developed due to accumulation of pavement deformation in various layers along the wheel path.
Horizontal tensile strain (t

max

) developed at the bottom of bituminous layer or the vertical

max
compressive strain (c
) developed at the top of sub grade, respectively, have been considered

as indices of fatigue and rutting of the pavement structure. Based on the large amount of field
performance data of bituminous pavement constructed across the India under various climatic
conditions, Indian Roads Congress code entitled Guideline for the Design of Flexible Pavement
(IRC:37:2001) specifies the following fatigue and rutting life relations for Indian conditions:

Nf = 2.21 *10-4 [1/t] 3.89 [1/E] 0.854

(5)

Nr = 4.1656 *10-8 [1/z] 4.5337

(6)

where
Nf

number of cumulative standard axles to produce 20% cracked surface

area

Nr

number of cumulative standard axle to produce 20 mm rutting

tensile strain at the bottom of BC layer

vertical compressive strain at the top of subgrade

elastic modulus of Bituminous surfacing (MPa).

Damage to a pavement occurs more rapidly under heavy loads than under light loads since every
part of the structure will experience higher stresses. To study the effect of geogrid reinforcement on
fatigue and rutting strain in pavement, higher axle loads were applied by varying the contact area at
constant tire pressure and corresponding fatigue and rutting life of unreinforced and geogrid
reinforced pavement is determined using Equation 5 and 6. The prediction of pavement life of

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unreinforced and geogrid reinforced pavement sections is based on the cumulative damage
concept in which a damage factor is defined as the damage per pass caused to a specific pavement
system by the load in question. Damage analysis is based on the horizontal tensile strain at the
bottom of the bituminous layer and on the vertical compressive strain on the top of the subgrade.
The damage (Di) caused by each application of dynamic single axle load can be given by Equation
(7):
Di =1/Ni

(7)

Where Ni is the minimum number of load repetitions required to cause either fatigue or rutting
failure, as given by Equations 5 and 6. The total number of load repetitions (Nf) that are allowed
over the pavement lifetime can be determined when total cumulative damage (Di) reaches one. The
estimated fatigue damage ratios versus axle loads are presented in Figure 8 for unreinforced and
geogrid reinforced flexible pavement. Marked reduction in fatigue damage is noticed in reinforced
pavement ranging 17% to 46% for different axle weight. No substantial reduction in rutting damage
ratio (Figure 9) is found in reinforced pavement when the grogrid is placed at the top of the base
course, but when the geogrid is placed at top of subgrade reduction in rutting damage ratio ranging
4% to 28% are noticed for varying axle load.

Figure 9: Rutting damage ratio in unreinforced and reinforced pavement (geogid is placed at
the bottom of the base course)
Prediction of pavement service life (Figure 10) is based on the allowable number of load repetitions
required to cause either fatigue or rutting failure over the pavement life time. The majority of Indian
bituminous pavements fail due to fatigue strain attributed by heterogeneous traffic conditions,
diurnal and seasonal variation of temperature, therefore fatigue life is governing criteria for
prediction of pavement service life. Geogrid reinforced pavement has showed considerable
improvement in pavement fatigue life for varying axle load when the geogrid is placed at the top of
the base course. Improvement in fatigue life is more pronounced at lower magnitude of load (40 to

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82%) whereas at higher load magnitudes beyond 140 kN, the contribution of geogrid to retard the
fatigue damage gradually diminishes.

Figure 10: Pavement design life of unreinforced and geogrid reinforced pavement (geogid is
placed at the top of the base course)

CONCLUSIONS
A series of finite element simulations have been carried out to evaluate the benefits of integrating a
high modulus geosynthetic into the pavement foundation. The simulations are conducted under a
parametric study to find out the beneficial effects of geosynthetic reinforcement to the fatigue and
rutting strain criteria. Although the assumption of full bond between geogrid and bituminous layer,
limited comparison of finite element analysis with pavement analysis programs are some limitation
of this research, the following important conclusions can be drawn from the model parametric study.
1. When the geogrid reinforcement is placed at the bottom of the bituminous concrete layer, it leads
to the highest reduction in horizontal tensile strain amounting to 14.96% to 22.35% under
dynamic and static loading conditions respectively. Geosynthetic reinforcement thus shows a
good potential of decreasing fatigue strain in the pavement.
2. No tangible difference in residual vertical surface deflection is found between unreinforced and
geogrid reinforced pavement under dynamic load.
3. The geogrid reinforcement potential in decreasing the vertical strain (amounting to 11.80%) is
more pronounced under dynamic loading condition, when it is placed between base course and
subgrade layer.
4. Pavement having geogrid reinforcement at the bottom of the bituminous concrete layer showed
considerable improvement in pavement service life on varying load where fatigue life is
governing criteria in prediction of service life.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first author (SP) is thankful to Dr. S. Gangopadhyay, Director, Central Road Research Institute
(CRRI), New Delhi, for kind permission to first author to pursue M.Tech program from I.I.T., Delhi.
Thanks are also due to Dr. P.K. Jain Head, Flexible Pavement Division, CRRI and Dr. Geetam
Tiwari, Professor, Civil Engineering Department, I.I.T. Delhi, for their constant encouragement at the
final stage of preparation of this paper.

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Haas, R. (1984), Structural behaviour of tensar reinforced pavement and some field applications,
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Pavements, final report of U.S Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
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Wang, L. (2010), Mechanics of Asphalt: Microstructure and Micromechanics, McGraw Hill, New
York.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Satish Pandey
Mr. Satish Pandey is working as a Scientist in Flexible Pavement Division of CSIR-Central Road
Research Institute, New-Delhi, India. He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering in Hons.
from Rajiv Gandhi Technical University Bhopal, M.P. in 2004. Subsequently, he did his Masters in
Transportation Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He was the Gold medalist
scholar of Department of Civil Engineering, Government Engineering College Jabalpur; M.P. He has
credited to publish more than ten papers in National and International conferences and journals. He
won Best paper award in National Level Technical Symposium Technovision 2003 at S.A.T.I
Vidisha and Techno Search 2004 at M.A.N.I.T, Bhopal. He is recipient of Diamond Jubilee
Research Intern Award by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New-Delhi in July 2005.
He is an active member of Indian Concrete Institute, Indian Road Congress and BIS-FICCI task
force on Technical Textile. Since his joining in CRRI, he has undertaken number of projects related
to pavement design, pavement failure investigation, pavement evaluation etc. He is well versed with
various highway engineering software viz. KENPAVE, BISAR, FPAVE, PLAXIS and ABAQUS.
Dr. K. Ramachandra Rao
Dr Ramachandra Rao is currently working as an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering
Department in IIT Delhi, India, specializing in Transportation Engineering. He is also an Associate
Faculty in Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), IIT Delhi. He holds
a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. He has a Master's degree in
Transportation Engineering from NIT Warangal and Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from
Andhra University. He has fourteen years of professional experience in teaching, research and
consulting in Transportation Engineering. His research interests include i) traffic modelling, ii) public
transportation planning, iii) road safety, iv) vehicular pollution, and v) pavement quality assessment.
He is widely published and is currently on the editorial board of International Journal for Traffic and
Transportation Engineering, besides being reviewer of various journals in the field. Currently there
are several students working with him for PhD, while some of them have graduated.
Dr. Devesh Tiwari
Dr. Devesh Tiwari is working as a Principal Scientist in Pavement Evaluation Div. of CSIR- Central
Road Research Institute, New-Delhi, India. He did his Ph.D. in Traffic and Transportation
Engineering in 2001 from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. He has 18 years experience in
R&D activities related to Highway Engineering in CRRI. He started his career with CRRI in 1992 as
Scientist - B. Since his joining in CRRI he has undertaken various projects related to Pavement
Design, Pavement Evaluation, Pavement Performance Maintenance and Rehabilitation,
Development of Pavement Maintenance Management Systems, Technical Audit of Road Projects,
Material Characterisation, Pavement Failure Investigations, etc. He is well versed with various
highway engineering softwares viz. CHEVRON, NISA, PDM, MEA, HDM-III, HDM-4. He has
published / presented 16 R&D papers in National and International Conferences/Seminars as well
as in Journals. He has been awarded with two commendation certificates for research papers
published in IRC journals.

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Copyright Licence Agreement
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ARRB the non-exclusive right to:
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