Use of Rubber Mats to Improve the Deformation and Degradation Behavior of Rail Ballast under Cyclic Loading
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYThis article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 6
Abstract
The deterioration of a rail track due to large dynamic wheel loads is inevitable over the years and leads to frequent, high-cost maintenance. This problem is more critical in isolated rail track locations such as bridges and tunnels, where the substructure is much stiffer than the surface track assembly. One measure used to minimize track deterioration is geosynthetic inclusions such as rubber mats under the layer of ballast. In this study, cyclic loads from fast and heavy-haul trains were simulated on stiffer track foundation conditions using a large-scale process simulation triaxial (prismoidal) apparatus (PSPTA) to investigate the performance of ballast improved by rubber mats locally manufactured from recycled tires. The laboratory results indicate that the energy-absorbing (damping) characteristics of rubber mats reduce the amount of deformation and degradation of ballast under stiffer track conditions. The study shows that rubber mats distribute the stress applied from moving trains more uniformly by increasing the effective contact area, which then reduces the dynamic amplification of applied vertical stress and leads to much less ballast degradation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The financial support provided by Australian Research Council (ARC) to conduct this study is gratefully appreciated, as is the support provided by the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, by offering leave to conduct a doctoral study for the first author. Constructive comments by Dr. Sanjay Nimbalkar and Associate Professor Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn during the study are gratefully acknowledged, as is the assistance provided by senior technical officers Alan Grant, Cameron Neilson, and Ritchie McLean in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong.
References
Abadi, T., Le Pen, L., Zervos, A., and Powrie, W. (2015). “Measuring the area and number of ballast particle contacts at sleeper/ballast and ballast/subgrade interfaces.” Int. J. Railway Technol., 4(2), 45–72.
Alves Costa, P., Calçada, R., and Silva Cardoso, A. (2012). “Ballast mats for the reduction of railway traffic vibrations. Numerical study.” Soil Dyn. Earthquake Eng., 42(0), 137–150.
Alves Ribeiro, C., Paixão, A., Fortunato, E., and Calçada, R. (2014). “Under sleeper pads in transition zones at railway underpasses: Numerical modelling and experimental validation.” Struct. Infrastruct. Eng., 11(11), 1432–1449.
AS (Australian Standards). (2015). “Aggregates and rock for engineering purposes. Part 7: Railway ballast.” Sydney, Australia.
ASTM. (2003). “Standard test methods for the determination of the modulus and damping properties of soils using the cyclic triaxial apparatus.” ASTM D3999, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bi, Z., Sun, Q., Jin, F., and Zhang, M. (2011). “Numerical study on energy transformation in granular matter under biaxial compression.” Granular Matter, 13(4), 503–510.
Bolton, M. D., Nakata, Y., and Cheng, Y. P. (2008). “Micro- and macro-mechanical behaviour of DEM crushable materials.” Géotechnique, 58(6), 471–480.
Chrismer, S., and Davis, D. (2000). “Cost comparisons of remedial methods to correct track substructure instability.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1713, 10–14.
DIN (German Institute for Standardization). (2010). “Mechanical vibration—Resilient elements used in railway tracks. Part V: Laboratory test procedures for under-ballast mats.” 45673–5, Berlin.
Einav, I. (2007). “Breakage mechanics. Part I: Theory.” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 55(6), 1274–1297.
Esveld, C. (2001). Modern railway track, MRT-Production, Zaltbommel, Netherlands.
Finegan, I. C., and Gibson, R. F. (1999). “Recent research on enhancement of damping in polymer composites.” Compos. Struct., 44(2–3), 89–98.
Hanson, C. E., and Singleton, H. L., Jr. (2006). “Performance of ballast mats on passenger railroads: Measurement vs. projections.” J. Sound Vib., 293(3–5), 873–877.
Hardin, B. O. (1985). “Crushing of soil particles.” J. Geotech. Eng., 1177–1192.
Hemsworth, B. (2000). “Reducing groundborne vibrations: State-of-the-art study.” J. Sound Vib., 231(3), 703–709.
Hunt, G. (2005). “Review of the effect of track stiffness on track performance.” Research Project No. T815, RSSB, London.
Hussaini, S. K. K., Indraratna, B., and Vinod, J. (2012). “Performance of geosynthetically-reinforced rail ballast in direct shear conditions.” 11th Australia–New Zealand Conf. on Geomechanics: Ground Engineering in a Changing World, Engineers Australia, Melbourne, Australia, 1268–1273.
Indraratna, B., Biabani, M., and Nimbalkar, S. (2015a). “Behavior of geocell-reinforced subballast subjected to cyclic loading in plane-strain condition.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., .
Indraratna, B., Ionescu, D., and Christie, H. (1998). “Shear behavior of railway ballast based on large-scale triaxial tests.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 439–449.
Indraratna, B., Lackenby, J., and Christie, D. (2005). “Effect of confining pressure on the degradation of ballast under cyclic loading.” Géotechnique, 55(4), 325–328.
Indraratna, B., Navaratnarajah, S. K., Nimbalkar, S., and Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2014a). “Use of shock mats for enhanced stability of railroad track foundation.” Aust. Geomech. J., Spec. Ed., 49(4), 101–111.
Indraratna, B., and Nimbalkar, S. (2013). “Stress-strain degradation response of railway ballast stabilized with geosynthetics.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 684–700.
Indraratna, B., Nimbalkar, S., Christie, D., Rujikiatkamjorn, C., and Vinod, J. (2010). “Field assessment of the performance of a ballasted rail track with and without geosynthetics.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 907–917.
Indraratna, B., Nimbalkar, S., and Neville, T. (2014b). “Performance assessment of reinforced ballasted rail track.” Proc., ICE-Ground Improv., 167(1), 24–34.
Indraratna, B., and Salim, W. (2002). “Modelling of particle breakage of coarse aggregates incorporating strength and dilatancy.” Geotech. Eng., 155(4), 243–252.
Indraratna, B., Salim, W., and Rujikiatkamjorn, C. (2011). Advanced rail geotechnology: Ballasted track, CRC Press/A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Indraratna, B., Sun, Q. D., and Nimbalkar, S. (2015c). “Observed and predicted behaviour of rail ballast under monotonic loading capturing particle breakage.” Can. Geotech. J., 52(1), 73–86.
Indraratna, B., Vinod, J. S., and Lackenby, J. (2009). “Influence of particle breakage on the resilient modulus of railway ballast.” Géotechnique, 59(7), 643–646.
Ishikawa, T., Sekine, E., and Miura, S. (2011). “Cyclic deformation of granular material subjected to moving-wheel loads.” Can. Geotech. J., 48(5), 691–703.
Jeffs, T., and Tew, G. (1991). “A review of track design procedures-sleepers and ballast.” Railways of Australia, Vol 2, Australian Government Publishing Service, Melbourne, Australia.
Johansson, A., Nielsen, J. C. O., Bolmsvik, R., Karlström, A., and Lundén, R. (2008). “Under sleeper pads—Influence on dynamic train-track interaction.” Wear, 265(9–10), 1479–1487.
Kaewunruen, S. (2007). “Experimental and numerical studies for evaluating dynamic behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers subject to severe impact loading.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Kempfert, H., and Hu, Y. (1999). “Measured dynamic loading of railway underground.” Proc., 11th Pan-American Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Fozdo Iguacu, Brazil, 843–847.
Lackenby, J., Indraratna, B., McDowell, G., and Christie, D. (2007). “Effect of confining pressure on ballast degradation and deformation under cyclic triaxial loading.” Géotechnique, 57(6), 527–536.
Lade, P. V., Yamamuro, J. A., and Bopp, P. A. (1996). “Significance of particle crushing in granular materials.” J. Geotech. Eng., 309–316.
Le, R., Ripke, B., and Zacher, M. (1999). “Ballast mats on high speed bridges.” Proc., Fourth European Conf. on Structural Dynamics: EURODYN’99, A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 699–703.
Li, D., and Davis, D. (2005). “Transition of railroad bridge approaches.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 1392–1398.
Li, D., Hyslip, J. P., Sussmann, T. R., and Chrismer, S. M. (2015). Railway geotechnics, CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
Li, D., and Selig, E. (1998a). “Method for railroad track foundation design. Part I: Development.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 316–322.
Li, D., and Selig, E. (1998b). “Method for railroad track foundation design. Part II: Applications.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 323–329.
Liu, M., Gao, Y., and Liu, H. (2014). “An elastoplastic constitutive model for rockfills incorporating energy dissipation of nonlinear friction and particle breakage.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 38(9), 935–960.
Lombaert, G., Degrande, G., Vanhauwere, B., Vandeborght, B., and François, S. (2006). “The control of ground-borne vibrations from railway traffic by means of continuous floating slabs.” J. Sound Vib., 297(3–5), 946–961.
Marsal, R. J. (1967). “Large-scale testing of rockfill materials.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng., 93(2), 27–43.
Marschnig, S., and Veit, P. (2011). “Making a case for under-sleeper pads.” Int. Railway J., 51(1), 27–29.
Müller, R. (2008). “Mitigation measures for open lines against vibration and ground-borne noise: A Swiss overview.” Noise and vibration mitigation for rail transportation systems, Springer, Heidelberg, 264–270.
Nimbalkar, S., and Indraratna, B. (2016). “Improved performance of ballasted rail track using geosynthetics and rubber shockmat.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., .
Nimbalkar, S., Indraratna, B., Dash, S., and Christie, D. (2012). “Improved performance of railway ballast under impact loads using shock mats.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 281–294.
Read, D., and Li, D. (2006). “Research results digest 79: Design of track transitions.” Transportation Research Board, National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
Selig, E. T., and Waters, J. M. (1994). Track geotechnology and substructure management, Thomas Telford, London.
Sitharam, T. G., and Vinod, J. S. (2010). “Evaluation of shear modulus and damping ratio of granular materials using discrete element approach.” Geotech. Geol. Eng., 28(5), 591–601.
Sol-Sanchez, M., Moreno-Navarro, F., and Rubio-Gámez, M. C. (2015). “The use of elastic elements in railway tracks: A state of the art review.” Constr. Build. Mater., 75(0), 293–305.
Sun, Q. D., Indraratna, B., and Nimbalkar, S. (2016). “Deformation and degradation mechanisms of railway ballast under high frequency cyclic loading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., .
Thakur, P. K. (2011). “Cyclic densification of ballast and associated deformation and degradation.” Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
Timoshenko, S., and Goodier, J. N. (1970). Theory of E = elasticity, McGraw-Hill, Singapore.
Ueng, T.-S., and Chen, T.-J. (2000). “Energy aspects of particle breakage in drained shear of sands.” Géotechnique, 50(1), 65–72.
Vesic, A. S., and Clough, G. W. (1968). “Behavior of granular materials under high stresses.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Eng., 94(SM3), 661–688.
Wang, J., and Yan, H. (2012). “DEM analysis of energy dissipation in crushable soils.” Soils Found., 52(4), 644–657.
Wettschureck, R. (1997). “Measures to reduce structure-borne noise emissions induced by above-ground, open railway lines.” Rail Eng. Int., Ed., 26(1), 12–16.
Yang, L., Powrie, W., and Priest, J. (2009). “Dynamic stress analysis of a ballasted railway track bed during train passage.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 680–689.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 6 • June 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 17, 2016
Accepted: Nov 3, 2016
Published online: Feb 15, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 15, 2017
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.