Recent Advances in the Characterization of Transportation Geo-materials

This special publication, sponsored by the Pavements Committee of the Geo-Institute, contains five papers from sessions of the Third National Conference of the Geo-Institute. The goal of the project was to encourage the application of geotechnical fundamentals in pavement design, and help the transfer of new developments in dealing with other earth-supported structures subjected to static, dynamic, and cyclic loads. Papers focus on recent advances in field and laboratory characterization of transportation geo-materials. These include the use of various nondestructive testing techniques (falling weight deflecometer, spectral analysis of surface waves, ground penetrating radar, seismic pavement analyzer, Humbold stiffness gauge) and cone penetration testing for field characterization, application of a new Tube Suction test method for characterizing durability of pavement foundation core samples, and laboratory stress path testing of granular materials under dynamic confinement conditions using a new advanced triaxial test device. Topics include evaluation of in situ resilient modulus testing techniques, evaluation of geogrid-reinforced granular base, durability of recycled and stabilized pavement materials, characterization of track substructure performance, and unbound granular material characterization from stress path loading tests.