Finite element modeling of an unpaved road reinforced with cellular geosynthetic reinforcements under full-scale traffic loading

Abstract

Unpaved roads, widely used in rural areas with low traffic volumes, are particularly vulnerable to rutting under heavy vehicle loads, especially when constructed over soft subgrades. Incorporating geosynthetic reinforcement within the aggregate base layer has proven to be an effective solution to mitigate such deformations. In this study, a finite element model was developed in ABAQUS to investigate rut formation and geocell strains in a cellular-reinforced unpaved road section. The model explicitly represents the honeycomb geometry of geocells and was validated against published laboratory studies with similar configurations and loading conditions, ensuring its reliability. To simulate field conditions, a moving wheel load of 560 kPa was applied for 100 load passes, considering bidirectional traffic. Pavement performance was evaluated in terms of surface settlement and geocell strain. The results show that both settlement and geocell strain increase rapidly during the initial load cycles before stabilizing with further loading. Additionally, the influence of geocell height on the performance was examined by comparing 100 mm and 200 mm high geocells. It was observed that increasing geocell height significantly reduces strain within the reinforcement, highlighting the importance of geocell geometry in improving the performance and durability of unpaved roads.