Study the Crack Development of Geosynthetics Interlayers in Bituminous Structures Under Different Temperatures

The utilization of geosynthetic materials as interlayers has been substantiated as an effective strategy for delaying the onset of reflective cracking on the pavement surface. Within a reinforced bituminous interface, the cracks initially propagate upward from their point of origin until they encounter the interlayer. When the interlayer possesses greater stiffness as compared to the surrounding bituminous material, the crack propagates along a horizontal path parallel to interlayer plane until the entire energy of the crack is dissipated. However, this enhancement in mechanical performance warrants in-depth investigation to quantitatively assess the reinforcing impacts of geosynthetic materials in the context of mechanistic design for reinforced pavement sections. This study investigates the effectiveness of the temperature and the position of paving fabric in the asphalt interface using the crack widening device. The outcomes showed that the reinforcement interlayer performed at best at a temperature around 25 ± 2 °C and geotextile placed at one-third from the bottom of the samples performed outstanding compared to those reinforcement placed at two-third from the bottom of the samples in most of the cases.