Numerical Simulation of One Pavement Structure of Polyethylene Terephthalate Submitted to Static Point Loads

Plastic is highly polluting nowadays and is found in many disposable elements used for people. Plastic materials are disposed inadequately and large quantities of them become pollution in the ground, water, and air, affecting plants and animals. Most of the plastic is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) which is used in many activities. Resistance, support capacity, and flexibility are some characteristics that make PET useful in road engineering. This research shows a numerical simulation of three kinds of structures for pavements in PET. The simulation uses 3D models that were analyzed in the software SAP2000. The material characteristics of the recycling PET were taken from industries and analyzed in the laboratory. The model used in the simulation was composed of vertical loads for traffic type A. Loads were applied in the border, 0.75 meters and 1.5 meters from the border. Three types of structures were analyzed with three, four and five supports respectively. Structure type 2 with four supports displayed the best results regarding vertical displacements in all the elements. Structure type 2 was simulated with six different thicknesses (0.06, 0.08, 0.10, 0.12, 0.14 and 0.16 meters). Optimization of this material and the resistance of the structure showed the 0.10 meters thickness as the best due to its admissible vertical displacements and required the lowest quantity of material for producing it.