Investigation the influences of geotextile on reducing the thermal reflective cracking using XFEM

Abstract

A 3D extended finite element model (XFEM) was constructed to investigate the thermal reflective cracking propagation and anti-cracking characteristic of geotextile. Influence factors of tensile modulus and placement location of geotextile were analysed. A temperature cycling test in the material test system was utilised in this work to validate the XFEM. Thermal simulations were performed considering the influences of solar radiation, air convection and air radiation. It has been found that crack initiated and propagated as temperature declining in earlier cycle, and crack length being fixed because of no more severe temperature variation based on maximum principal stress criterion. Geotextile with high tensile modulus had a significant influence on reducing the crack propagation compared with low tensile modulus geotextile or unreinforced situation. Geotextile placing at the bottom of asphalt surface had the best crack resistance influence, and geotextile placed at one-fourth depth from asphalt course bottom was more efficient than placed at other locations in terms of anti-crack propagation.

Keyword:

• Thermal reflective cracking
• crack propagation
• geotextile
• XFEM
• influences