Model Tests on Reinforced Pavement on Soft Clay Ground

Abstract

This paper describes model tests investigating the feasibility of utilizing polymer grid for suppressing the differential settlement of asphalt pavement constructed on a very soft clay, the Ariake clay ground. Repeated loading tests were carried out on pavement models of 2.2sq.m and 1m depth of a standard specification and those reinforcement by polymer grids in several geometries. The main results derived from are as follows: Polymer grid placed at the interface between base course and subgrade (the Ariake clay) contributes effectively for suppressing the differential settlement of pavement; Maximum pull-out resistance of polymer grid in subgrade, Tmax, closely depends upon the shear characteristics of the soil, Tmax/L=αc_u+σtan (βφ), where α=0.53 and β=0 for the Ariake clay.