Some geosyntethics applications in the pavement engineering.
How these materials take the behavior and durability increases in the normals pavements conditions.
Write about geosyntethics applied to pavement engineering is linked in your use to unpaved and paved roads. This use, to the first case, consists to auxiliate the foundation reinforcement over weak soils and the stability increasing when the agregate base or agregate sub-base are separate and don`t have contact with the subgrade soil and other pavements layers. However, to the second one (paved roads) is possible the use of the geosyntethics materials with the objective to break excessive pavement deformations and to obstruct some cracks propagations on the asphalt`s layer surface.
Some traditionals constructions methodologies of the unpaved roads consist to obey of the traditionals ones to the construction of base and sub-base layers. When it are utilized in some constructions it have the first applications, as the most visible, the separation function application. In some secondary functions, we have the reinforcement function and the filtering function. A geotextile use can to prevent, for example, the materials mixing in differents grain size distribution between a coarse agregate layer and the subgrate foundation.
In paved roads, into the pavement structure, for example, are necessary some deformations behaviors for that to be mobilized the geosyntethic`s strenght inside to the one. These materials, specially the geotexiles, make a increase tensile resistance into the pavement`s strucuture and extend the life time with the decreasing crak propagation on the asphalt`s surface layer.
Now, is noted here that these syntethics inclusions into the pavement structure make a increase in your durability and behavior, under stress and excessives loadings applied during the roads and highways lifetime. Are necessary more studies relationated to the brazilian`s reality because some factors such as the climate and materials diversity and the differents geological formations make a necessity to get the best geosyntethics applications to each different conditions that have different geotechnicals behaviors – a cause of your geology diverse.
Marcelo Ferreira dos Santos is a Technical Consultant in Civil Constructions.