Study of a Rehabilitation Method with a Pavement Reinforcement System for Low Volume Roads

Resumo

This paper presents the first results of an experimental study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a rehabilitation method for low volume roads. The method suggests the usage of a steel reinforcing netting in order to improve the performance.  It consist in reconstructing the surface layer placing a steel reinforcement in the interface between the new binder layer and the existing base course. This reinforcing method aims at making a road possibly support a sudden increase of number and load of vehicles quickly and with a modest maintenance. The research considered the problem from three points of view: real scale, by constructing and monitoring an experimental section; reduced scale, with laboratory tests reproducing the situations recorded in the experimental section; a finite element modeling using all the so gathered results. The findings show that although the steel netting is placed in the top layers of the pavement, it is still able to improve its resistance and its strain energy absorption ability consequent to the vehicles transit.