Performance Evaluation of Virgin and Recycled Aggregate Bases Stabilized with Geotextiles

Abstract

Virgin granular base (VGB) is currently the most widely-used base course material for roadway construction. As VGB in high demand, alternative materials, such as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), have been increasingly used as a base material. Normally, a base material is placed directly on top of compacted subgrade soil in the field. When the subgrade is soft, it may not able to support the traffic or be intermixed with the base course subjected to loading. Geotextile can be placed in between the subgrade and the base course to minimize these effects. Serving as a separation function, the geotextile restrains particles from moving up and down. This research evaluated the performance of virgin granular aggregate and recycled concrete aggregate bases stabilized with geotextiles. Six large-scale cyclic plate loading tests were conducted on base courses placed on soft subgrade. Woven and non-woven geotextiles were used at the interface between base and subgrade to stabilize both VGB and RCA sections. The test results show that all the RCA base course sections outperformed the VGB base course sections in terms of their permanent deformation, bearing capacity, and stress distribution. Geotextile improved the performance of base courses in terms of their permanent deformation, bearing capacity, and stress distribution.