Reinforced Polyethylene Pond Waste as Antireflective Cracking System in Asphalt Pavements

Fatigue cracking is considered to be one of the main pathologies in asphalt pavements, contributing to the reduction of its service life and generating high costs as a consequence of more maintenance works. Because of the importance of road quality in society's economic development, techniques to avoid and reduce the adverse effects derived from cracking phenomena are necessary. For this purpose, this research focuses on the development of a sustainable and economic solution that uses reinforced polyethylene pond wastes as an antireflective cracking system placed between asphalt pavements layers. Three different pavement sections were studied in the laboratory: A reference one with no anticracking system; a pavement section with geotextile as the common anticracking system; and a similar one with reinforced polyethylene pond waste. The results obtained from the mechanical performance testing showed that this technique could provide an optimal solution to reduce the effect of this pathology, and to offer a new way to valorize these wastes. In addition, in comparison with the other solutions, reinforced polyethylene pond liners are more effective in reducing the propagation of cracks through the asphalt pavement.