Performance of Concrete Pavements using Geocomposite Drainage Layer

Rigid concrete pavements are subject to cracking, due to traffic load, fluctuation of temperature, and particularly moisture. An alternative for improved pavement drainage is to incorporate a geocomposite drainage layer underneath the concrete pavement. The geocomposite has advantage over natural drainage materials in maintaining its flow capacity and compressive stiffness under the construction and service loads. This paper presents the ongoing study of concrete pavements over triplanar drainage geocomposites in West Virginia University. The frictional study of concrete blocks cast over the geocomposite demonstrated that geocomposite and concrete come to a very strong bond where the governing friction behavior is that between the geocomposite and subgrade. It was observed that initial drying shrinkage within the concrete specimens has a greater rate than that of concrete specimens over geocomposite, and average concrete cast on geocomposite has 9% less drying shrinkage than that of concrete cast with standard mold. The water seepage that occurs before the concrete has set has no affect on the overall compressive strength of the concrete. The forthcoming research will address the subgrade reaction with the geocomposite above the subgrade, concrete beam fatigue behavior, and shear transfer across the joint or crack.