Assessment of pavement performance is typically carried out by field trails, large-scale la-boratory experiments, and numerical modelling. In this study, a numerical model of unpaved road con-structed with competent and marginal aggregate bases over soft subgrade with and without reinforcement (planar) under plain-strain condition was developed using two-dimensional explicit finite difference pro-gram – Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua (FLAC2D). Base layer and subgrade soil were modelled by continuum zones following Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion and the reinforcement was modelled as struc-tural element cable. The mesh size and the maximum unbalanced force ratio were selected based on con-vergence and computational time to obtain the solution. Large-strain mode was activated in the study so that the coordinates of the grid points were updated at the end of every cycle. A series of numerical simu-lations were conducted in displacement-controlled mode for different properties of base layer and sub-grade soil to assess the effectiveness of the reinforcement.
The improvement in reinforcing base layer was presented in terms of load improvement factor, the normal stress transferred at the subgrade layer, and settlement at the surface. In addition, the axial force and axial strain mobilized in the reinforcement was also presented. The effectiveness of the reinforcement was found to be significant for settlement ratios beyond 4%.
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