Centrifugal Modeling of Geo-synthetics Reinforced Roadbed under Cyclic Loading Condition

The cyclic load of overload vehicles will cause uneven deformation of the roadbed, leading to serious safety accidents. Geo-synthetics can effectively restrict the roadbed as a type of reinforcement. However, it is not clear how to arrange geo-synthetics for a good balance between the economic benefits and sufficient reinforcement. A series of centrifuge model tests of geo-synthetics reinforced roadbed are carried out under the cyclic loads. The deformation and reinforcement effect are investigated by considering the different geo-synthetics spacing. The results show that geo-synthetics effectively restricts the roadbed deformation. The reinforcement effect of geo-synthetics decreases with the increase of depth along the loading center. The geo-synthetics reinforcement effect is enhanced by decreasing the geo-synthetics spacing. The cyclic loads only induce deformation within a limited zone in the roadbed. As the geo-synthetics spacing decreases, the depth of the deformation zone decreases while the horizontal width increases.