Investigating Strength and Deformation Characteristics of Heavy-Haul Railway Embankment Materials Using Large-Scale Undrained Cyclic Triaxial Tests
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 9
Abstract
Heavy-haul railway embankments in China are generally constructed with coarse-grained granular (CGS) materials. The accumulation of permanent deformations in CGS materials remains a significant concern and technical challenge because the CGS layer sustains a considerable portion of the intense train-loading transferred from overlying structures. Previous research studies demonstrated that the critical cyclic stress (CCS) level significantly affects the accumulative permanent (or plastic) deformation. This paper presents the results from a series of repeated-load, undrained, permanent deformation triaxial tests conducted in the laboratory using a customized large-scale triaxial apparatus. CGS specimens prepared with different moisture contents were subjected to different combinations of confining and deviator stress levels. The accumulation of permanent axial strain as a function of the number of load cycles was recorded for each specimen during the tests. The influences of moisture content, confining pressure, and deviator stress on modulus and permanent axial strain accumulation characteristics were analyzed. Empirical formulas for calculating the elastic modulus and accumulated permanent axial strain are proposed. The findings in this study could provide guidance for designing similar heavy-haul railway embankments.
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Acknowledgments
The first and second authors (W. Leng and Y. Xiao) contributed equally to this work. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this work provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 51508577, 51678572, U51408613, and U1361204), the Open-End Fund for the Valuable and Precision Instruments of Central South University, and the Graduate Student Autonomous Exploration Project of Central South University (Grants 2017ZZTS525, 2016ZZTS073, and 2014ZZTS046). They also thank the staff and research engineers, especially Ms. Liuxin Chen and Ms. Zhen Zhang, for their involvement in data analysis at the National Engineering Laboratory for High-speed Railway Construction housed at the Central South University.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17 • Issue 9 • September 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 22, 2016
Accepted: Mar 9, 2017
Published online: Jun 22, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 22, 2017
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