Pavement Geotechnics Lab

Prof. Sireesh leads the Pavement Geotechnics [PAGE] Lab at IIT Hyderabad. The lab looks at geotechnical aspects of pavements, including applications of geosynthetics in pavement layers, recycling and reclaiming pavement materials, sustainable aspects of pavements, stabilization of subgrade, subbase and base layers using low energy low calcium stabilizers, drainage aspects of subbase, etc. The group is closely working with Govt. agencies and Industry partners to come up with innovative and sustainable solutions. For more details about the current projects, please visit Sponsored Research page.

Post Doctoral Fellow

Dr. Amit Kumar Ram

Dr. Amit graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Banaras Hindu University (IIT BHU) and joined the PAGE group as a post-doctoral fellow in November 2023. Dr. Amit is a recipient of the 2024 Institute Post Doctoral Fellowship (IITH-PDF). He currently works on geosynthetic-reinforced pavement base layers.

46

research students

8

ongoing projects

8.1

crores funding

259

Research articles

Our Research Team

Here are our Ph.D. scholars working on various Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements, Autonomous Vehicles, Landslides, Merine Soils

Current Ph.D. Students

PRATIK CHAUDHARY

TiHAN Project Scholar

REVATHY MANOHAR

MoE Scholar

SHUBHAM JAIN

NTTM Project Scholar

PRABHU TEJA CH

NHAI Project Scholar

ashok kumar

NHAI Project Scholar

ABISHEK R R

NHAI Project Scholar

SWATI

MoE Scholar

naveen kumar

MoE Scholar

Pramod khoirom

NTTM Project Scholar

Current M.Tech Students

Sagar simpi

2023-25

shubham kumar

2023-25

Manasa T

2024-26

Aiswarya R D

2024-26

Current research

These are the ongoing research projects at the PAGE laboratory

Geosynthetic-reinforced Bases

Inadequate subgrade conditions, improper design and construction, and unpredicted increases in traffic demand contribute to premature pavement failures. Particularly when weak subgrades are encountered and good construction materials become scarce, pavement design becomes a challenge.

Asphalt Reinforcement

This study aims to understand the influence of different geosynthetic reinforcements on the fatigue performance of asphalt layers and the corresponding mechanisms involved. Three different types of geosynthetic reinforcement were employed to understand the fatigue behavior of asphalt layers via an asphalt beam fatigue test (ABFT) along with the use of digital image correlation (DIC) techniques.

Fly ash Geopolymer-stabilized Reclaimed Pavement Bases [FRB]

This study aims to assess the long-term performance of an alkali-activated fly ash (FA) stabilized reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) when utilized as a base course in a full-scale experimental test section. The test results showed that the alkali activation using the liquid alkaline activator significantly improved the mechanical strength, stiffness, and durability of the mixtures.

Geocomposite embedded GSB

Drainage is one of the primary factors considered during the design of pavements. This study presents the data from large-scale permeameter tests conducted on pavement sections to evaluate the drainage characteristics of geocomposite (GC) embedded GSB layers with and without traffic load.

Autonomous Vehicle Pavement Response

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) have stepped up efforts to become the automobiles of the future. In terms of productivity, AVs are superior to human-driven vehicles (HVs). Current road infrastructure is believed to be unsuitable for AVs; autonomous vehicles may pose different challenges to pavement structures as they are not engineered to accommodate such novel classes of vehicles.

Behavior of Landslides

A landslide can be defined as the movement of a mass of rock, Earth, or debris down a slope. The occurrence and effects of landslides are an issue that affects the entire world and are constantly growing due to unpredictable extreme events and the exposure of people to climatic whims in the mountains. Landslides pose a threat to human life, man-made facilities, property, infrastructure, and the natural environment.

Behavior of Marine Soils

This study investigated the effect of gradation, especially of mean particle size and uniformity of gradation, on the shear modulus degradation of natural marine sands compared to regraded clean sands. A series of fixed-free resonant column tests were performed on graded clean sands and marine sands having similar uniformity coefficient values, Cu. It is observed that the modulus degradation of both clean sands and marine sands increased with the increase in Cu.

Geocell-reinforced Pavements

A series of large-scale model experiments were carried out on different geocell reinforced base courses to evaluate realistic base layer coefficients to design flexible pavements. Initially, the modulus improvement factor (MIF) for geocell-reinforced bases were establised for varying subgrade conditions. The MIF values ranged between 1.4 to 5.0 for geocell-reinforced base layers placed over different subgrade conditions.

Research Facilities

Following are the advanced test facilities available at Pavement Geotechnics Lab

Fast FWD with APT Module

50 kN Repeated Load Triaxial Apparatus

Large-scale Permeameter for Geocomposites

Deep Soil Mixing Rig

Four-point Bending

IITH Pavement Test Track [TRI HUB]

For additional facilities Click here

Alumni [Ph.D]

The alumni of our research group are shining examples of the of the impact of our collective efforts. Many have gone on to achieve remarkable success in their careers, making significant contributions to their respective fields. Our best wishes to their future endeavors.

Vijay Kumar Rayabharapu

2016
Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering, BVR Institute of Technology, Hyderabad

Deepti avirneni

2016
Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering, Mahindra University, Hyderabad

Vinay kumar vv

2018
Huesker, USA

pranav rt peddinti

2020
[Primary Supervisor]
Research Assistant Professor
Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST),
South Korea

Maheshbabu jallu

2021
[Primary Supervisor]
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Pandit Deendayal Energy University Gujarat.
Soon joining as a Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin, USA.

ramu b

2022
[Primary Supervisor]
Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Indore

vamsi nk mypati

2023
Postdoctoral Fellow at The University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy

ramesh gangisetti

2024
Vice President - Engineering
Sarathy Geotech & Engineering Services

Alumni [M.Tech]

The alumni of our research group are shining examples of the of the impact of our collective efforts. Many have gone on to achieve remarkable success in their careers, making significant contributions to their respective fields. Our best wishes to their future endeavors.