Rapid and Easily Applicable Procedure for Full-Scale Laboratory Tests of Ballastless Slab Tracks
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147, Issue 9
Abstract
Increasing demand for high speed railway lines necessitates reducing construction and maintenance costs. Accordingly, RC slab tracks are preferred due to their advantages such as being almost maintenance free and supplying uniform support conditions. However, new testing procedures are required for the performance evaluation of the slab tracks to identify possible failure modes which may not be observed in numerical analyses. Although there are some procedures in the literature, there still is no consensus on loading intensity, shape, frequency, or number of cycles. A testing procedure that greatly decreases experimental costs was adopted for the design approval tests of precast RC slab tracks. The procedure was evaluated experimentally through full-scale laboratory tests of intact and intentionally damaged specimens. The study demonstrated that the proposed testing procedure reduces experimental costs and identifies the mechanical properties of slab tracks.
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Data Availability Statement
All data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was conducted in the framework of the ITUNOVA Technology Transfer Office Research Project “Development of New Generation Precast Sleepers and Slab Tracks.” The financial support provided by Yapiray Railway Construction Systems Industry and Trade through this project is greatly appreciated. The study was conducted in the Structural and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory of ITU. The support of the laboratory staff is gratefully acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147 • Issue 9 • September 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 14, 2021
Accepted: Apr 7, 2021
Published online: Jul 8, 2021
Published in print: Sep 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 8, 2021
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