Behaviour of sisal fibre reinforced bituminous mixes

Abstract

Road transportation has become a wider choice among all the transport systems in India. Over the past four decades, the share of road transport has been continually increasing with a substantial shift from other modes to road. Hence it is important to have a better road infrastructure with minimal possible hindrance to road users by providing regular periodic and routine maintenance. With time and traffic, the condition of the road deteriorates. Due to steep increase in vehicular traffic volume, channelized movement of heavy loads, rampant overloading and high occurrence of temperature variations, the bituminous wearing coat continues to prematurely fail due to various types of distresses like rutting, fatigue cracking, etc. Therefore, researchers investigated the possible application of new and innovative materials in bituminous construction to extend the life of pavements. Attempts are being made by researchers to improve the performance of bituminous layers by adding chemicals in the bituminous mixes. Addition of synthetic or natural fibres in the bituminous mix has also gained momentum in the recent days for improving the life of the pavement. Even though many studies are available for improving the performance of the pavements with synthetic fibres, studies on natural fibres are limited. newline