Moving Down the Road of Progress: Geosynthetics Subdue Failures on Expansive Clays and Frost-susceptible Soils

by Jorge Zornberg, P.E., Ph.D., (F.ASCE), Brunswick-Abernathy Regents Professor in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin., zornberg@mail.utexas.edu,
Xiong Zhang, P.E., (M.ASCE), Professor of geotechnical engineering in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, MO., zhangxi@umsystem.edu,
, Ph.D.

Serial Information: Geo-Strata —Geo Institute of ASCE, 2021, Vol. 25, Issue 2, Pg. 48-55


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract: Using geosynthetics in roadway projects has provided sustainable alternatives for reconstruction and maintenance and now represents a significant portion of the total geosynthetics market. Geosynthetics can enhance roadway performance in relation to traffic loads and can address design objectives such as increasing the roadway design life or decreasing the thickness requirements of structural layers. Various geosynthetic types have been used to mitigate reflective cracking in structural asphalt overlays, stabilize unbound aggregate layers, reduce layer intermixing, reduce moisture in structural layers, and stabilize soft subgrades. Geosynthetics have also worked successfully on problems triggered by sources other than traffic loads � for example, on roadways founded on subgrade soils subjected to volumetric changes caused by the presence of expansive clay subgrades and frost-susceptible soils.

Subject Headings: Geosynthetics | Expansive soils | Highway and road design | Subgrades | Subgrade soils | Highways and roads | Clays

 

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