Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Load-Carrying Capacity of Rigid Pavement Slabs Reinforced with Biaxial Geogrid

This study presents the results of an investigation of the effect of biaxial geogrid reinforcement on the load-carrying capacity of rigid pavement slabs. Six concrete slabs having dimensions of 800 × 800 × 50 mm were prepared and tested under static loads at three different locations: interior, edge and corner of the slab. Three of the slabs were unreinforced and taken as references. The other three slabs were reinforced with a biaxial geogrid layer. Study parameters investigated in this study included the load-carrying capacity, ductility and failure modes of the slabs. The experimental results were verified theoretically using the finite-element software ABAQUS. The findings indicated that the load-carrying capacity and ductility of the concrete slabs reinforced with the biaxial geogrid can be improved. Test results obtained indicated that the maximum load-carrying capacity of the concrete slabs reinforced with the biaxial geogrid was increased by 25%, 26% and 29% for interior, edge and corner loading locations, respectively.