The effect of multiaxial geocomposite reinforcement on fatigue performance and crack propagation delay in double-layered asphalt beams

The presented study investigates the effect of a recently developed multiaxial geocomposite made of polypropylene geogrid and non-woven fabric on the delay of crack propagation, based on four-point bending tests of large asphalt concrete beams – both for reinforced and non-reinforced specimens. Several approaches are described in this study, including analysis of stiffness modulus decrease and analysis of crack propagation using dissipated energy. The study also includes investigation of the impact of reinforcement on shear resistance of the inter-layer bond. The reinforced system displays reduced decrease in stiffness during cyclic loading; it is able to bear loads over a longer period, in contrast to the unreinforced system. An increase in fatigue life by a factor of 10–22 is possible, as compared to the unreinforced system. The factor of relative increase in the number of cycles to the first initiation of crack in lower asphalt layer when reinforcement is introduced ranges from 5 to 10.