CA-Chitosan effect on the time dependent serviceability of jute geotextile under unpaved roads

Biodegradable jute geotextiles (JGTs) are an effective reinforcing material for unpaved roads, but its serviceability is limited because of faster microbial degradation. Different methods are in use to improve the serviceability of jute geotextiles. In this paper, the influence of CA-chitosan treatment, road design, and rainfall intensity on the time-dependent serviceability of JGTs has been studied. Chemically treated jute geotextiles are laid in unpaved road designs with and without sand layer, for 30, 60, and 90 days’ duration, and are exposed to simulated rainfall intensities of 50 and 100 mm/hr. With an increase in time of usage, breaking load and puncture resistance decrease due to microbial attack, and pore size decreases due to clogging of soil in JGTs. Chemical treatment is observed to have a greater influence on the serviceability, followed by the presence of a sand layer in road design and the rainfall intensity and shows retention % in tensile strength of 87.42% and 91.21% after 30 days duration. Further, the overall performance of CA-chitosan treated JGTs is observed to be better than untreated JGTs.