ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on evaluating local stiffness enhancement near a geogrid installed at the base/subbase interface of full-scale pavement test sections at the FAA's national airport pavement test facility (NAPTF) in the USA. The investigated test pavements comprised of the north section stabilized with a square aperture geogrid and the south control section with no geogrid. Inductive coil sensors and pressure cells were embedded in both sections. A full-size dual-tridem gear applied realistic moving wheel loads on the pavement surface. Pavement responses including layer deformations from coil sensors and applied pressure from earth pressure cells were measured during traffic loading. Modulus characteristics of the subbase layer were then estimated based on the sensor measurements during traffic passes. The study findings indicate higher layer stiffness consistently estimated in the geogrid-stabilized pavement section when compared to the values in the control section due to heavy aircraft gear loads.
