CINCINNATI, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- It is widely understood throughout the engineering and construction industry, that stabilization of the subgrade is critical when constructing roads, parking lots, work platforms etc., to prevent rutting and costly repairs. The long-time industry belief that geogrids are the best solution for subgrade stabilization has been undermined by the results of a DOT sponsored study. This study revealed that a woven high-performance geotextile outperformed all other geosynthetics in the study, including all 9 of the geogrids.
Background:
- This comprehensive study was funded by 9 State DOTs, and was the first full-scale study of this scope to compare the performance differences of 12 geosynthetics used as subgrade stabilization.
- An 860 ft. long track was constructed at TRANSCEND (the Transportation Research Facility of the Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University), and then trafficked and monitored for over two months using a fully loaded three-axle dump truck.
- Base Course Reduction (BCR) and Traffic Bearing Ratios (TBR) were two of the parameters used to rank the products in order of performance.
- In general, use of a geosynthetic resulted in aggregate savings ranging from 10% to 26%.
Unexpected results:
The 12 geosynthetics consisted of: 2 geotextiles; 1 geogrid/geotextile composite; and 9 geogrids. The final analysis resulted in three unexpected findings:
- A woven high-performance geotextile out performed all the geosynthetics evaluated by a wide margin.
- A nonwoven geotextile, although the weakest product in terms of tensile strength, performed better than all but two of the geogrids, and ranked #4 in the top performing products.
- Two highly touted next-generation geogrids ranked #9 and #10 respectively.
While the results of this study validate the cost/benefit of geosynthetics and can reduce the amount of aggregate required by 26%, the findings challenge traditional industry thinking. As this information becomes more widely circulated it may impact which products are specified in future roadway construction. More information can be found through the links below:
www.carthagemills.com
Subscribe: [email protected]
STUDY |
Study Prepared for and Financed by: |
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Idaho Montana New York |
Ohio Oklahoma Oregon |
South Dakota Texas Wyoming |
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In cooperation with: |
Full Technical Report Prepared by: |
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Montana Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration |
Eli Cuelho Steve Perkins Zachary Morris |
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Location: |
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TRANSCEND, Transportation Research Facility of the Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University |
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LINKS |
3 Page Synapsis of the Report (Products Ranked by Performances) |
SOURCE Carthage Mills
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