Influence of Rubber Inclusion on the Dynamic Response of Rail Track
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 2
Abstract
Heavier and faster trains have motivated researchers to seek better ways to absorb the increasing amount of energy imparted to rail foundations and mitigate track deterioration. In recent years, resilient rubber products have attracted more attention due to the high level of damping and the associated energy absorbing capacity of rubber. However, because rubber granules have lower shear strength and higher compressibility compared with natural rock aggregates, a better understanding of how rubber inclusions can influence the track system is imperative, especially before putting these recycled resilient materials into practice. In this paper, the performance of rail track incorporating an alternative subballast layer, i.e., a synthetic energy absorbing layer (SEAL) consisting of a mixture of granulated rubber and mining waste is evaluated through large-scale prismoidal triaxial tests and a computational dynamic model. It is revealed that the amount of granulated rubber in SEAL composites has a significant influence on the dynamic behavior of the track. Fundamentally, increasing the amount of rubber within SEAL leads to a higher vertical deformation, increased energy absorbing capacity, and a higher damping ratio and vibration level, while reducing the ballast degradation, track stiffness, and lateral movement (dilation) of the track. It has been found that 10% of rubber by mass is the optimal amount of rubber to be included in SEAL. This amount of rubber will ensure that a ballasted track can efficiently reduce the dynamic contact pressure at the interface between different track layers (i.e., sleeper, ballast, subballast, and subgrade), and reduce the lateral spread (dilation) and breakage of ballast without generating excess vibration and settlement comparing with traditional track materials.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project (ARC-DP; project ID: DP180101916). The assistance provided by industry (ASMS, South 32, and Tire Crumb Australia) in relation to the procurement of material used in this study is gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 2 • February 2022
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Feb 3, 2021
Accepted: Jun 8, 2021
Published online: Nov 22, 2021
Published in print: Feb 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Apr 22, 2022
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