Behaviour of Track Ballast Under Repeated Loading

Najaf-sea quarry is located in Najaf city about 160 km south west of Baghdad the capital of Iraq. It is the main source that supplies track ballast for maintenance of existing railway network and construction of new railway lines in the middle and southern parts of Iraq. Track ballast experience a complex combination of stresses during its service lifetime, primarily from repeated axial loads of the trains in addition to stresses generated from the environmental conditions. The ideal evaluation of suitability of track ballast must be carried out under real field loading conditions, however such field tests are usually costly and time consuming. On the other hand laboratory model tests simulating field loads under limited boundary conditions can provide satisfactory indication about the suitability of the material. The present paper investigates the deformation characteristics of Najaf-sea track ballast, under repeated loading using model tests simulating ballast conditions under a selected track section. A test setup was designed and manufactured capable of applying both monotonic as well as repeated loading on the track section under different conditions. The repeated model tests which simulate as close as possible the field conditions shed the light on the generated settlement, modulus of deformation and degradation of the ballast particles under different repeated loading levels. Statistical analysis in terms of breakage index and repeated applied load revealed satisfactory correlations that help in understanding the overall performance of the ballast material. The results also demonstrate that 4–5 tamping are capable of controlling both the settlement and modulus of deformation of the ballast material.     

Numerical modelling of railway ballast at the particle scale

The paper describes the development of a technique to simulate triaxial tests on specimens of railway ballast numerically at the particle scale and its validation with reference to physical test data. The ballast particles were modelled using potential particles and the well‐known discrete element method. The shapes of these elemental particles, the particle size distribution and the number of particles (N = 2800) in each numerical triaxial specimen all matched closely to the real ballast material being modelled. Confining pressures were applied to the specimen via a dynamic triangulation of the outer particle centroids. A parametric study was carried out to investigate the effects on the simulation of timestep, strain rate, damping, contact stiffness and inter‐particle friction. Finally, a set of parameters was selected that provided the best fit to experimental triaxial data, with very close agreement of mobilized friction and volumetric strain behaviour. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Discrete element modeling of the single-particle crushing test for ballast stones

In this paper, a discrete element modeling approach for the single-particle crushing test for irregularly shaped ballast stones is presented. Bonded spherical particles are used to represent test specimens. Parametric studies focusing on particle size, axial strain rate, particle aggregate size and number of bonds are performed. The selection criteria of these parameters are discussed from the perspective of railway engineering. The results indicate that the proposed modeling approach is reliable for simulating railway ballast stones and can thus be further used for simulations of ballast aggregations.     

四川省的一种潜在优势石材资源--铁路道碴用岩石

全国铁路大提速,现有铁路设施急需改造,新建铁路也将按照新的速度标准进行设计和施工。因此,铁路道碴必须按新的质量标准进行更换。市场需求迫切,容量空间巨大,我省此类石材资源具有量大、质优、区位分布合理等优势,应重视和加强铁路道碴石材资源的勘查评价,为四川铁路的全面提速,提供坚实的物质基础。     

Discrete element analysis of breakage of irregularly shaped railway ballast

In order to reduce the maintenance costs of ballasted railway track and improve passenger comfort, the railway ballast particle breakage and its effect on track settlement need to be better understood. The failure process of individual railway ballast loaded between flat platens is simulated using the discrete element method, considering its irregular shape with the incorporation of parallel bonds. The tensile strength, the stress of a survival probability of 37% of samples, is obtained and compared with laboratory results from published literature for the verification of DEM simulations. The evolution to failure of the particle is understood from the stress-strain curve and progressive failure modes. The internal breakage mechanisms are analysed by tracking the accumulation of bond breakage number and the contact force distributions.     

Study on the particle breakage of ballast based on a GPU accelerated discrete element method

Breakage of particles will have greatly influence on mechanical behavior of granular material(GM)under external loads,such as ballast,rockfill and sand.The discrete element method(DEM)is one of the most popular methods for simulating GM as each particle is represented on its own.To study breakage mechanism of particle breakage,a cohesive contact mode is developed based on the GPU accelerated DEM code-Blaze-DEM.A database of the 3D geometry model of rock blocks is established based on the 3D scanning method.And an agglomerate describing the rock block with a series of non-overlapping spherical particles is used to build the DEM numerical model of a railway ballast sample,which is used to the DEM oedometric test to study the particles’breakage characteristics of the sample under external load.Furthermore,to obtain the meso-mechanical parameters used in DEM,a black-analysis method is used based on the laboratory tests of the rock sample.Based on the DEM numerical tests,the particle breakage process and mechanisms of the railway ballast are studied.All results show that the developed code can better used for large scale simulation of the particle breakage analysis of granular material.     

DEM simulation of the behaviour of geogrid stabilised ballast fouled with coal

Geogrids are commonly used in railway construction for reinforcement and stabilisation. When railway ballast becomes fouled due to ballast breakage, infiltration of coal fines, dust and subgrade soil pumping, the reinforcement effect of geogrids decreases significantly. This paper presents results obtained from Discrete Element Method (DEM) to study the interface behaviour of coal-fouled ballast reinforced by geogrid subjected to direct shear testing. In this study, irregularly-shaped aggregates (ballast) were modelled by clumping together 10–20 spheres in appropriate sizes and positions. The geogrid was modelled by bonding a large number of small spheres together to form the desired grid geometry and apertures. Fouled ballast with 40% Void Contaminant Index (VCI) was modelled by injecting a predetermined number of miniature spheres into the voids of fresh ballast. A series of direct shear tests for fresh and fouled ballast reinforced by the geogrid subjected to normal shear stresses varying from 15 kPa to 75 kPa were then simulated in the DEM. The numerical results showed a good agreement the laboratory data, indicating that the DEM model is able to capture the behaviour of both fresh and coal-fouled ballast reinforced by the geogrid. The advantages of the proposed DEM model in terms of capturing the correct stress–displacement and volumetric behaviour of ballast, as well as the contact forces and strains developed in the geogrids are discussed.     

铁路碎石道碴层导热系数测试研究

采用稳态比较法，对铁路碎石道碴层的导热系数进行了测试．试验在常温条件下，分别对底部加热及顶部加热两种情况进行了研究．结果表明：当碎石道碴层顶、底面之间的温差较小时，顶部加热及底部加热两种试验条件下测得的导热系数基本相同；而当碎石道碴层顶、底面温差较大时，底部加热条件下的导热系数明显地大于顶部加热条件下的导热系数．在底部加热条件下，碎石道碴层的导热系数随温差的增大而逐渐增大．碎石道碴层具有吸热和放热条件下传热的不对称性，合理地利用碎石道碴层的这一传热特性，可望对路基下多年冻土起到积极的保护作用。     

DEM analysis of angular ballast breakage under cyclic loading

Railway ballast particles undergo significant amount of breakage under repeated train load. Breakage of ballast particles, especially highly angular fresh ones, causes an increase in settlement, contributing to track degradation. The quantitative analysis of the influence of breakage on the stress-strain properties of ballast can be performed either experimentally or numerically. Numerical modeling has the advantage of simulating ballast breakage subject to various types of loading and different boundary conditions for a range of material properties. In this paper, ballast breakage under cyclic loading is simulated using a 2D discrete element method (DEM) utilizing the software PFC^2D . A new subroutine is developed and incorporated in the PFC^2D analysis to study ballast breakage and to quantify breakage in relation to particle size distribution. The influence of confining pressure on both breakage and permanent deformation is also studied and compared with laboratory observations. The findings of this paper provide an insight into the true ballast behavior under cyclic loading and are expected to assist railway practitioners in developing suitable design criteria for track stability.     

Investigation of Flexural Behavior of Geocell Reinforcement Using Three-Layered Beam Model Testing

The study presented in this paper aimed to investigate the flexural behavior of geocell reinforcement by means of three-layered beam model testing. The geocell reinforcement was assumed to be a continuous beam sandwiched between two identical polywood beams. An analytical analysis was conducted to derive the closed-form solution to calculate the deflection of the three-layered beam model. A series of four-point bending tests using dead weights were carried out to test the three-layered beam models. Two geocell products of different dimensions and two types of infill materials, crushed stone and silty sand were tested in this study. Deflections of the layered beam models were measured along with the increment of applied loads. Testing results showed that the geocell reinforcement provides considerable resistance to flexural deformation, especially at higher load levels. The geocell with greater cell height to cell length ratio exhibited overall greater resistance to flexural deflection, especially when crushed stone was used as infill materials. Geocell reinforcements filled by crushed stone showed less flexural deformation than the geocells filled by silty sand. The modulus of the geocell reinforcement was calculated based on the closed-form solution and deflection measurements from the four-point bending tests. Ranges of elastic modulus were presented for the geocell reinforcement filled with compacted crushed stone and silty sand, which can be used as reference values for material property inputs in mechanistic-empirical design of geocell-reinforced pavements.     

A generalized model for geosynthetic reinforced railway tracks resting on soft clays

The present study pertains to the development of a foundation model for predicting the behavior of geosynthetic reinforcement railway track system rested on soft clay subgrade. The ballast and sub‐ballast layers have been idealized by Pasternak shear layer. The geosynthetic layer is represented by a stretched rough elastic membrane. Burger model has been used to characterize the soft clay subgrade. Numerical solutions have been obtained by adopting the finite difference scheme combined with non‐dimensioning the governing equations of the proposed model. The results confirm that the present model is quite capable of predicting the time‐dependent settlement response of geosynthetic reinforcement railway track system placed on soft clay subgrade. The surface settlement profile and mobilized tensile load of geosynthetics has been evaluated by considering variation in the wheel load, sleeper width, thickness of ballast and sub‐ballast layers and shear modulus of ballast and sub‐ballast layers. It has been observed that an increase in the sleeper width by 24% results in the reduction in central settlement and mobilized tensile load by 6.5% and 20.1%, respectively. It was found that with a 50% increase in the thickness of the ballast layer, the central settlement has decreased by 7.3% and the mobilized tension at the zone of maximum curvature has increased by 24.6%. However, with an increase in the thickness of the sub‐ballast layer, a considerable reduction in both central settlement and the mobilization of tension on geosynthetic has been noticed. The pattern of variation of settlement and mobilized tension for an increase in the shear modulus of ballast and sub‐ballast material was found to be almost similar. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

填料对地热井固井材料导热性能的影响

在地热井固井水泥中加入导热填料能够明显改善水泥石导热性能,提升地热井取热效果。在总结导热路径理论和紧密堆积理论的基础上,通过试验研究不同填料种类、粒径及掺量对固井水泥导热性能的影响。试验结果表明:较其他种类填料,石墨对水泥石导热性能提升效果最好;石墨粒径越大对应水泥石导热系数越高。不同粒径的石墨混合,较单一粒径石墨对水泥石导热性能的提升效果更好,其最优混合配比为:石墨粒径为150 μm与100 μm,质量比为2:1。随着石墨掺量增加,固井材料的导热系数逐渐增大,但流动度和48 h抗压强度逐渐降低。参照固井相关规范,提出固井材料中石墨掺量应控制在9%左右为宜。研究成果为地热井高导热固井材料的制备提供借鉴。移动阅读      

A hypo-plastic approach for evaluating railway ballast degradation

Repetitive or cyclic rail loading deteriorates the engineering properties of the railway ballast by particle crushing and rearrangement. Most of the classical elasto-plastic models are unable to predict such ballast degradation despite successfully predicting the overall load–deformation behavior during cyclic densification. In this context, the present study delivers a novel hypo-plastic modeling approach coupled with breakage mechanics theory to bridge the gap of the conventional models. The hypo-plastic approach enables to predict the nonlinear load–deformation response of ballast-type granular materials for both monotonic and cyclic loading conditions, while circumventing the requirement of notional yield condition to predict the inelastic behavior. Breakage mechanics theory, on the other hand, establishes the links between particle comminution and the macroscopic deformation. The novelty of the proposed approach is threefold. Firstly, unlike the conventional hypo-plastic approaches, the development of the proposed model is within the continuum thermodynamics framework. Secondly, the model requires less number of physically identifiable parameters as compared to that of earlier models employed for assessing the particle breakage under cyclic loading. Third and finally, the numerical implementation of the model as a user-defined material is simple for solving boundary value problems. Under the compressive deformation regime, the model prediction of the ballast degradation along with the cyclic densification response agrees reasonably well with the experimental results found in the literature.     

积沙对铁路道碴层反射率的影响研究

青藏铁路建成后,随着全球气温的升高及人类活动的影响,青藏高原地表沙化正在呈现加速发展的趋势,地表积沙入侵路基,填堵和覆盖青藏铁路道碴层,影响了青藏铁路道碴层的反射率。为此开展了积沙对于铁路道碴层反射率影响的研究。为此本文将测量碎石层等粗糙表面的反射率的方法进行了改进,使其适用于测量混有流动性材料（如积沙等）的粗糙表面（如铁路道碴层等）的反射率。结果表明：随着铁路道碴层模型积沙覆盖率的增大,铁路道碴层的反射率先减小后增大,当积沙完全覆盖道碴层时,其反射率达到最大。并将该测试方法与ASTM-E1918A标准测试方法进行对比分析发现,在天气晴朗、无云、无雾霾且太阳辐射入射量瞬时强度变化<20W·m^-2时,两种测试方法计算非常接近,其测量差值0~0.002,综合分析认为在测量带有流动材料的反射率时,采用本测试方法方便可靠。但积沙对道碴层的热流平衡影响有待进一步研究。     

Prediction of the sawing quality of Marmarit stones using the capability of artificial neural network

The sawing rate is one of the most significant and effective parameters in extracting building stones via diamond wire sawing. This parameter designates the capability of diamond wire sawing for sawing different stones; in addition, the parameter gives rise to economical considerations for quarry designers. In this study, the existent relations between stone geotechnical parameters and the sawing rate of stones via diamond wire sawing were analyzed using regression and correlation coefficient as well as the collected data from Marmarit stone quarries. Moreover, we estimated the sawing rate of Marmarit using the dimensional stone rock mass rating (DSRMR); upon comparison of the data obtained from DSRMR our pre‐collected data on quarries, we did not gain satisfactory results from DSRMR, hence we used artificial neural network (ANN). The results showed that the percentage of Silica, the coefficient of water absorption, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), and abrasive hardness are the proper parameters for creating the ANN. Discontinuities have the least effects possible on diamond wire sawing. Having given the training possibility of the ANN, and its ability to evaluate relations among input parameters, the ANN, which was being trained with Marmarit's traits, was an accurate network for estimating diamond wire sawing in Marmarit quarries, although it could not generalize this network for other stones such as Chini and Crystal. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

成兰铁路松潘隧道入口红花屯古滑坡发育特征与稳定性分析

成兰铁路地处南北地震带中段,在内外动力耦合作用下,铁路沿线发育一系列大型—巨型古滑坡及存在古滑坡复活现象,给铁路工程规划建设造成极大危害。野外调查表明,规划建设中的成兰铁路松潘隧道入口位于红花屯古滑坡的坡脚部位,在强降雨和人类工程活动等作用下,该古滑坡近年来已发生局部复活并对铁路和下方居民区造成重大威胁。本文在野外调查的基础上,对红花屯古滑坡开展了原位大型直剪试验和稳定性模拟分析。研究表明:天然工况下,组成红花屯滑坡的碎石土抗剪强度较高,与其碎石含量呈显著的相关性,随着含石量的增加,碎石土的粘聚力有降低趋势,而内摩擦角有升高趋势。基于FLAC~(3D)数值模拟结果表明,在天然状态下,红花屯古滑坡的总体稳定性较好,铁路开挖坡脚改变了坡体的局部应力状态,在强降雨作用下,雨水进一步弱化滑体力学强度,古滑坡体变形量变大;在滑坡采取抗滑桩、格构锚等治理后,滑坡变形得到了有效控制。该滑坡在干湿循环、地震和人类工程活动等作用下,有可能进一步发生失稳,影响铁路隧道安全和坡体下方居民区,应加强群测群防和稳定性监测。     

封闭块碎石层最佳降温粒径的室内试验研究

对不同粒径块碎石层在封闭条件下的降温效果进行了系列室内试验研究,试验中块碎石层厚度为1.3 m,采用的4种块碎石平均粒径分别为8.3 cm、14.8 cm、22.1 cm和27.1 cm.结果表明:在顶部温度(平均温度为正)周期波动条件下,4种粒径块碎石层均有一定的降温效果,但平均粒径为22.1 cm的块碎石层降温效果最好.经综合分析确定,封闭块碎石层在本试验条件下的最优降温粒径范围为20~30 cm.在全球升温与人类工程活动的背景下,即使路基表面平均温度升为正,只要合理利用块碎石层的降温特性,就可以达到有效保护其下部多年冻土的目的.     

Relationships Between Abrasion Index and Shape Properties of Progressively Abraded Dolerite Railway Ballasts

Sub-angular-shaped aggregates are used as rail foundation ballasts and must remain sub-angular during their service life time to maintain particle–particle interlocking, in order to ensure the stability of the rail line and prevent accidents by derailment. Here, the screening of dolerite quarry aggregates for use as railway foundation ballasts was investigated by employing simple digital image and chart methods. The average particle size (d ₅₀), flakiness index (FI), Los Angeles abrasion index (LAAI), sphericity (SPH) and roundness (RND) were determined for two batches of dolerite ballasts from the Rooikraal quarry in Johannesburg and Ngagane quarry in Newcastle. Thirty samples from each of the two batches of ballast were analysed. The ballasts were progressively abraded using a Los Angeles abrasion device and were analysed after each cycle of abrasion. A decrease in d ₅₀ and an increase in FI with increased number of abrasion cycles were observed for both batches of dolerite ballast. The difference in the chart and digital image values of RND and SPH were marginal before abrasion; however, these differences increased with each abrasion cycle. The LAAI, d ₅₀, mean RND and mean SPH correlated significantly and were found to have high regression coefficients. Thus, statistical models are proposed for the non-destructive routine screening of in-place ballasts in order to track marginal changes in aggregate shapes, facilitate ballast replacement programmes and avoid rail line instability.     

Railway embankment failure due to ballast layer breach caused by inundation flows

A railway embankment constructed on a floodplain is at risk of damage due to flooding flows. The process and critical conditions that lead to railway embankment damage during flooding are not clearly understood, rendering risk estimations impossible and hindering the development of flood-resilient rail systems. For this work, we first reviewed records of railway damage in flood plains and flows through the ballast layer. The breaching process was selected as the focus of our study. We secondly specified the fundamental characteristics of flows through a ballast layer. The critical flow rate per unit width and the minimum upstream water depth required for initiating extensive ballast breaching were experimentally evaluated using a full-scale ballast layer with rails and sleepers constructed using materials originally utilized in actual railways. A two-dimensional flow model was then employed for estimating the flow through a ballast layer that was placed on an impermeable base embankment. A simple ballast breaching model was also employed in order to explore a higher flow rate condition that could not be represented in our experiment due to limited facilities. The breaching pattern represented by the simulation model corresponded to the breaching pattern observed in the experiment. In addition to the above, here, we also discuss the ballast breaching process based on qualitative field records and quantitative experimental results, as well as the ballast breaching process as represented by the simulation.     

碎石桩加固高填方地基的试验效果分析

碎石桩作为处理软弱地基土的一种有效手段，往往需要对其试验效果进行分析。评价碎石桩处理后复合地基的性状是否达到地基处理考核指标，并提出可能调整的方案。论文以四川九寨一黄龙机场高填方地基处理工程为背景，介绍了碎石桩法加固软弱土层的现场试验，并对碎石桩处理后复合地基的加固效果进行了检测分析。包括碎石桩体检测和桩间土检测，最后综合室内土工试验、动力触探测试及载荷试验检测结果得出，碎石桩对本工程软弱地基的处理能达到预期的加固效果。其复合地基承载力高于设计要求，具良好的导水性，能有效排出地基中地下水。目前，该试验成果已用于指导机场地基处理与高填方填筑体施工。同时，它对于其它类似工程亦有借鉴意义。