The effects of engineering fabric in street pavement on low bearing capacity soil in New Orleans
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Description
The prevalence of low bearing capacity soils in New Orleans has generated tremendous problems in street construction During the 1960's, trial use of a new material, a synthetic fabric now called Engineering Fabric or Geotextile, was attempted for road construction in the area of soft soil. Engineering applications of fabric first started in European countries such as France, West Germany and others, and later in the United States in the 1970's No previous study has been made of its use in the New Orleans area. The scope of this research is to learn how Engineering Fabric or Geotextile affects the pavement behavior when used as a pavement component This research was funded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, with some manufacturers participating in the cost of instrumentation including the instruments and their installation during construction The selection of the types of Engineering Fabric to be tested was based upon the willingness of the manufacturers to participate in the investigation. Six types of Engineering Fabric known to the Investigators at the time were considered for testing, including both woven and non-woven types, but only three manufacturers decided to participate The following functions of Engineering Fabric were tested: (1) Pavement reinforcement; (2) Separation of subgrade from base course; (3) Subgrade drainage; (4) Reflective cracking retardation To achieve the testing of these functions, the following arrangements were made: (1) Placing the fabric between the subgrade and the aggregate base course. (2) Placing fabric between the compacted subgrade and the new asphalt paving. (3) Placing fabric on existing cracked up asphalt paving and overlaying with two inches of bituminous concrete For all test sections, adjoining sections of street built without fabric were observed as control sections The following data were collected: (1) Strain in the base course and in the subgrade under traffic load. (2) Moisture content of the subgrade. (3) Pavement deflection by dynaflect. (4) Surface deformation by Mays Ridemeter. (5) Traffic Volume. (6) Surface cracks mapping by visual observation Conclusions were drawn and recommendations made on the use of Engineering Fabric in New Orleans