3D printing and lab-scale testing of bio-inspired geogrids for road rutting reduction
- 1College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Corresponding author.
- 2School of Computing Instruction, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- 3School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Abstract
The utilization of geogrids to mitigate road rutting, or permanent deformation, has significantly increased over the last decade. However, faced with ever-increasing traffic loads, commonly used commercially available biaxial and triaxial geogrids cannot always provide an optimal solution. There is an urgent need for developing the next generation of geogrids that will be more cost-effective and outperform current options. This paper utilizes 3D printing technology to fabricate geogrids inspired by spider webs, and evaluates their relative performance using a lab-scale testing system. The testing apparatus comprises a miniature road structure with two layers: a top base course layer made of aggregates and a bottom subgrade layer made of locally sourced soil. A wheel moves cyclically to simulate traffic loads. Additionally, the testing program incorporates 3D scanning at various stages using a handheld scanner to digitize changes to critical surfaces, such as the top of the road and the interface between the base course and the subgrade. These digitized data are used to compare the relative performance of different geogrids. The lab-scale testing results reveal that, although the new bio-inspired geogrid did not show significant additional improvement in reducing surface rutting for the lab-scale road, the bio-inspired geogrid helped distribute traffic load to a larger area of the subgrade than some existing commercial products.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026printing,
title = {{3D printing and lab-scale testing of bio-inspired geogrids for road rutting reduction}},
author = {Jiaojun Liu and Nimisha Roy and J. David Frost},
journal = {Biogeotechnics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.bgtech.2025.100188},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bgtech.2025.100188},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - 3D printing and lab-scale testing of bio-inspired geogrids for road rutting reduction
AU - Jiaojun Liu
AU - Nimisha Roy
AU - J. David Frost
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Biogeotechnics
DO - 10.1016/j.bgtech.2025.100188
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bgtech.2025.100188
AB - The utilization of geogrids to mitigate road rutting, or permanent deformation, has significantly increased over the last decade. However, faced with ever-increasing traffic loads, commonly used commercially available biaxial and triaxial geogrids cannot always provide an optimal solution. There is an urgent need for developing the next generation of geogrids that will be more cost-effective and outperform current options. This paper utilizes 3D printing technology to fabricate geogrids inspired by spider webs, and evaluates their relative performance using a lab-scale testing system. The testing apparatus comprises a miniature road structure with two layers: a top base course layer made of aggregates and a bottom subgrade layer made of locally sourced soil. A wheel moves cyclically to simulate traffic loads. Additionally, the testing program incorporates 3D scanning at various stages using a handheld scanner to digitize changes to critical surfaces, such as the top of the road and the interface between the base course and the subgrade. These digitized data are used to compare the relative performance of different geogrids. The lab-scale testing results reveal that, although the new bio-inspired geogrid did not show significant additional improvement in reducing surface rutting for the lab-scale road, the bio-inspired geogrid helped distribute traffic load to a larger area of the subgrade than some existing commercial products.
SN - 2949-9291
ER -