Citation

Chen Q, Zhang Z, Gaspard K. Transp. Res. Rec. 2023; 2677(7): 157-168.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/03611981231152247

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The experimental program was designed to discover the effectiveness of various treatments on mitigating pavement distress (mostly longitudinal cracking issues) caused by normal seasonal volumetric changes in expansive clays. Unfortunately, these objectives were compromised by subsequent flooding events. However, these flooding events offered rare opportunities to evaluate the impact of inundation on the performance of newly constructed pavement sections. Flood-induced pavement movement was monitored with cross-section surveys. Pavement condition data were obtained from regular pavement management activities conducted by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's Pavement Management System unit. The roadway pavements of test sections experienced significant movement because of the floods, but it is differential movement across the pavement that caused longitudinal cracks. The test section, with a geotextile-wrapped sand layer placed between the pavement structure and subgrade, had the best performance among all test sections with respect to longitudinal cracking; better performance was achieved when this sand layer was extended to the edge of the foreslope. This may be because the geotextile-wrapped sand layer created both a drainage system to minimize moisture fluctuations in the subgrade and a flexible mechanical system to absorb the swelling pressures from the underlying subgrade. Flood-induced structural damage was apparent by comparing falling weight deflectometer data of different test sections. Flood-induced heaves and depressions caused the ride quality of the roadway to deteriorate faster than expected. This may be because the prolonged inundation expedited the transition process of the pavement structure and materials from the newly constructed state to the natural equilibrium state.

Language: en