Effect of Geosynthetic Drainage Layers on the Recovery Rate of Pavement Surface Modulus

In northern climates, excess water infiltrates pavement foundations through various mechanisms and saturated conditions can be experienced during spring thaw, causing an important decrease of the pavement bearing capacity. The implementation of geocomposite drainage layers within the pavement structure has good potential to ensure rapid drainage of this excess water. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these techniques through laboratory and field experiments. The laboratory results suggest that the use of geocomposite drainage layers in the pavement structure decreases significantly the recovery time of the pavement surface modulus by a factor 3 to one point. Most of the field sections implemented with drainage layers showed a decreasing time for evacuation of water. This effect was also observed through deflections (MDD and FWD) and calculated SCI (FWD) which decreased faster than the reference section.