Introduction. One of the most common defects in the asphalt concrete pavements of highways and highway bridges that arise during their operation is the formation of ruts.
The problem of increasing the rut resistance and durability of asphalt concrete pavements of highways, city streets and roads, at intersections, in front of traffic light intersections, at public transport stops and on the right lanes of bridges and overpasses is very relevant all over the world.
One of the effective means of solving this problem is to increase the rut resistance and durability of asphalt concrete pavements by reinforcing them with Adfors GlasGrid® reinforcing synthetic materials.
Problem Statement. The design of road pavement structures that are resistant to the formation of cracks and rutting, and the use of modern technologies for the construction and repair of asphalt concrete pavements will significantly improve the durability and performance properties of highways.
Modern world experience shows that the use of reinforcing synthetic materials for reinforcing asphalt concrete layers makes it possible to prevent premature cracking and rutting in asphalt concrete pavements and significantly increase the time between repairs and the durability of road surfaces of highways, city streets and roads, bridges and overpasses.
This paper highlights the results of experimental studies commissioned by Caponier-Group LLC by the State Enterprise “Road Scientific and Technical Center” (SE “Dorcenter”) to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of reinforcing synthetic materials Adfors GlasGrid® produced by Saint-Gobain Adfors CZ" (Czech Republic) in comparison with alternative reinforcing synthetic materials to increase the rut resistance and durability of asphalt concrete pavements of highways, city streets and roads, bridges and overpasses.
Purpose. Ensuring rutting resistance and thereby increasing the durability of asphalt concrete pavements is a complex problem that is solved both in the process of designing and calculating the structure of road pavements, selecting the optimal compositions of asphalt concrete mixtures for road surfaces, binders and bitumen emulsions for priming, and in compliance with construction and repair technologies works, as well as through the use of modern materials and technologies for reinforcing asphalt concrete layers with reinforcing synthetic materials. The purpose of the work is to experimentally study the effectiveness of using reinforcing synthetic materials to increase the rutting resistance and durability of asphalt concrete pavements.
Results. Testing of reinforced asphalt concrete pavement for resistance to rutting showed that reinforcement can significantly increase the rutting resistance of asphalt concrete pavement.
Reinforcement of asphalt concrete pavement with Adfors GlasGrid® reinforcing synthetic materials allows increasing rutting resistance, that is, reducing the rut depth and total rutting area by 19 – 35 %. At the same time, the greatest rutting resistance of an asphalt concrete pavement can be achieved when it is reinforced with Adfors GlasGrid GG100 geogrids.
Reinforcement of an asphalt concrete pavement with reinforcing synthetic materials from other manufacturers has shown a decrease in the rutting resistance of the reinforced asphalt concrete pavement compared to non-reinforced ones.
Thus, Adfors GlasGrid® reinforcing synthetic materials increase the rutting resistance and, consequently, the durability of the asphalt concrete pavement. At the same time, studies have shown that Adfors GlasGrid® reinforcing synthetic materials have confirmed their effectiveness when used under the top layer of the pavement.
Conclusions. Based on research results, the effectiveness of reinforcing asphalt concrete layers of road pavements, including the top layer of asphalt concrete pavement, with Adfors GlasGrid reinforcing synthetic materials has been proven. This confirms the possibility and feasibility of using Adfors GlasGrid® reinforcing synthetic materials under the top layer of asphalt concrete pavement, including on bridges and overpasses, to increase the rutting resistance and durability of asphalt concrete pavements.
