Evaluating the Performance of Reinforced Unpaved Roads Using Plate Load Tests

This study presents the strength of geosynthetic-reinforced unpaved road sections over soft subgrade utilizing plate load Test through a rectangular model box. Geotextile, geogrid, and geonet were used as a reinforcing component. The bearing capacity determined by the plate load test from the laboratory was compared with an analytical solution. The primary objective behind the reinforcement is to decrease the structural section without changing the traffic capacity and to increase the durability of the pavement. The test results showed the implications of a geosynthetic position on the strength of unpaved test sections, through a double reinforcement position always yielded the best improvement. It is seen from the results that there is a substantial increment in the Bearing Capacity of unpaved sections due to single reinforcements attaining a rate of about 34.60% with bi-axial geogrid, about 29.81% with geonet, and about 32.50% with nonwoven geotextile when reinforced within top one-third of subgrade layer.