Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Committee Chair
Roger H. L. Chen.
Abstract
One method for providing proper drainage for Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) highway pavement systems could be incorporating a geocomposite which creates a thin layer of voids through which water can flow. This research was done to develop a method for accounting for such a material during the thickness design of the PCC pavement. A theoretical method for predicting the results of field plate bearing tests of a soil system was adapted to include a geocomposite. Also, the vertical stiffness behavior of a particular geocomposite was characterized in the laboratory via uniaxial compression and cyclic fatigue tests. The validity of the theoretical method was verified by comparing deflections calculated using these vertical stiffness characteristics to experimental data collected from plate bearing tests, as well as to results of Finite Element (FE) models. Good compatibility was shown between plate deflections calculated theoretically and those obtained using the Finite Element method.
Recommended Citation
Sweet, Joseph G., "Vertical stiffness characterization of a geocomposite drainage layer for PCC highway pavements" (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 1947.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1947