Structural Deterioration of Ac Pavements with and without Steel Reinforcement. in Field Experimental Comparison

The paper focuses on the monitoring of an experimental stretch of road over a five year period in order to measure the effects of steel reinforcement on Asphalt Concrete (AC) pavement performance. The experimental stretch of road was constructed in 2001 alternating sections with and without steel reinforcement. This paper presents the results regarding the effects of steel reinforcement that were obtained by monitoring the AC pavements with NonDestructive Deflection Measurement Techniques (NDT) and comparing the performances of pavements with and without reinforcement. Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) surveys were conducted on the experimental stretch immediately following its construction and after five years of service, in order to evaluate the modifications of structural capacity resulting from the presence of steel mesh. Using the FWD measurements deflection basin parameters, the AASHTO Structural Number and the Pavement Residual Life were evaluated. In general, all the analyses confirm that the installation of road mesh produces a significant improvement in pavement performance. After five years of service an analysis of the pavement sections with steel reinforcement showed an extension of Residual Life by a factor of two when compared with the equivalent pavements without reinforcement.