Improving Damping Properties of Railway Ballast by Addition of Tire-Derived Aggregate

Author(s):  
Weimin Song ◽  
Baoshan Huang ◽  
Xiang Shu ◽  
Hao Wu ◽  
Hongren Gong ◽  
...  

The damping properties of railway ballast are critical to the safe operation of trains. This study aimed to improve the damping properties of railway ballast through the addition of tire-derived aggregate (TDA) and to evaluate the effect of TDA on other properties of ballast. The damping property and other mechanical properties of ballast mixed with different contents of TDA were tested utilizing a large direct shear test (DST) under static and cyclic loading conditions. The cyclic loading test was performed in accordance with ASTM D 7499, from which the resilient interface shear stiffness and damping ratio were obtained. The results showed that TDA significantly increased the damping ratio of railway ballast, but decreased the resilient interface shear stiffness. The stress-strain behavior of the ballast-TDA mixes was obtained from the static loading test, showing that TDA significantly decreased the peak shear stress and the dilation effect. According to the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion, TDA also decreased the cohesion strength and the internal friction angle of the ballast. Based on the test results from this study, 5% rubber is recommended for use in railway ballast.

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishant Kumar ◽  
Bettina Suhr ◽  
Stefan Marschnig ◽  
Peter Dietmaier ◽  
Christof Marte ◽  
...  

Abstract Ballasted tracks are the commonly used railway track systems with constant demands for reducing maintenance cost and improved performance. Elastic layers are increasingly used for improving ballasted tracks. In order to better understand the effects of elastic layers, physical understanding at the ballast particle level is crucial. Here, discrete element method (DEM) is used to investigate the effects of elastic layers – under sleeper pad ($$\text {USP}$$USP) at the sleeper/ballast interface and under ballast mat ($$\text {UBM}$$UBM) at the ballast/bottom interface – on micro-mechanical behavior of railway ballast. In the DEM model, the Conical Damage Model (CDM) is used for contact modelling. This model was calibrated in Suhr et al. (Granul Matter 20(4):70, 2018) for the simulation of two different types of ballast. The CDM model accounts for particle edge breakage, which is an important phenomenon especially at the early stage of a tamping cycle, and thus essential, when investigating the impact of elastic layers in the ballast bed. DEM results confirm that during cyclic loading, $$\text {USP}$$USP reduces the edge breakage at the sleeper/ballast interface. On the other hand, $$\text {UBM}$$UBM shows higher particle movement throughout the ballast bed. Both the edge breakage and particle movement in the ballast bed are found to influence the sleeper settlement. Micro-mechanical investigations show that the force chain in deeper regions of the ballast bed is less affected by $$\text {USP}$$USP for the two types of ballast. Conversely, dense lateral forces near to the box bottom were seen with $$\text {UBM}$$UBM. The findings are in good (qualitative) agreement with the experimental observations. Thus, DEM simulations can aid to better understand the micro-macro phenomena for railway ballast. This can help to improve the track components and track design based on simulation models taking into account the physical behavior of ballast. Graphical Abstract


2013 ◽  
Vol 724-725 ◽  
pp. 1736-1739
Author(s):  
Xue Jun Wang ◽  
Bin Hua ◽  
Yi Lin Chi ◽  
Xue Yu Zhao ◽  
Fu Yu Li

When ballast materials are subjected to cyclic loading, as a result, the change of particles micromechanical properties will lead to ballast degradation, permanent deformations on the railways step by step. In this paper, it presented a coupling discrete particle-flow simulation model of the railway ballast for cyclic tamping loading. Tamping frequency changes from 25HZ to 60HZ in numerical simulation process. Simulation results that the ballast compaction rate increases linearly with frequency up to a characteristic frequency 35HZ and then it declines in inverse proportion to tamping frequency. The aim of this paper is to study on the effects on the railway ballast under cyclic loading. The study shows that the discrete element method is a valid method for investigation of the microscopic properties of railway ballast now, while we have no other better research method.


2019 ◽  
Vol 345 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yidong Xia ◽  
Zhengshou Lai ◽  
Tyler Westover ◽  
Jordan Klinger ◽  
Hai Huang ◽  
...  

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