For Sustainable Reinforcements of Infrastructures with Coated Glass Fiber Grids

International audience; The road maintenance is a shared subject of concern worldwide and needs a substantial investment. The use of glass fiber grids, for the reinforcement of bituminous pavements and the fight against the rise of cracks, is a solution used successfully and in full development for which more and more examples show very good performance after monitoring roads for many years. The SolDuGri ANR project brings together French companies, Colas, 6D Solutions and Epsilon and public researchers ICUBE/INSA, ICS, the French state laboratory IFSTTAR in order to contribute to the optimization of the choice and the use of these grids for a better efficiency. This article presents the outline of the project and the first results obtained which consist in the study and the modelling of:-The in situ damage of the grids. The mechanical properties (monotonic, elastic modulus, fatigue) of the grids, from a full scale test section, have been studied.-The effect of their presence on the bonding with the asphalt layers. Different tests characterizing the bonding and crack propagation at the interface have been developed.-The IFSTTAR fatigue test track. A full scale test with 6 different sections of grid-reinforced pavement and its modelling have been performed and modelled. Beside these tests, 4 points bending fatigue tests are launched to compare their results with the fatigue test track ones.-The recycling possibilities and the environmental influences of such products. Life cycle assessment analyses have been performed and compared to asphalt concrete based solution. All these results will help these partners to propose recommendations for a better use of glass fiber grids and a design criterion of geogrid-reinforced pavement.