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Influence of base course thickness on the deformation behavior of geogrid-reinforced pavement

Deformation behavior of model pavement section was investigated through large-scale la-boratory tests. Six cyclic loading tests were performed with base course thicknesses of 3 cm, 5 cm and 10 cm for no reinforcement and geogrid reinforcement respectively. Cyclic pressure with varying magnitudes was applied in each test, ranging from 50 kPa to 400 kPa allowing 500 cycles for each pressure level. Test results revealed that the influence of base course thickness was more obvious on the unreinforced sections than the geogrid-reinforced ones in which this influence was noticed on the subgrade settlement behavior. Regardless of reinforcement condition, surface settlement was mainly attributed to the subgrade settlement of the thin sections, while both subgrade settlement and lateral flow resulted in the surface settlement of the thick sections. The effect of base course thickness was minimal on the rebound characteristics, which was proportional to the applied pressure level. The accumulative loss of base course thickness was signifi-cant in the thick sections and increased with increasing pressure. This loss was effectively reduced by in-cluding the geogrid reinforcement. However, this reduction was started notice under 150 kPa. Compared to the unreinforced tests, the potential benefits of geogrid stabilization were known by means of reductions in the settlement and the loss of base course thickness.