True Triaxial Testing of Geogrid for High Speed Railways

This work describes a series of novel experimental tests to determine the potential of geogrids to confine granular layers within ballasted railway lines operating at speeds close to critical velocity. This is important because at low train speeds, vertical stresses are dominant, but when approaching critical velocity conditions, dynamic horizontal stress levels are magnified. Therefore, the majority of previous geogrid investigations have been performed assuming constant horizontal stress levels, thus making them more relevant for lower speed lines. To investigate settlement under high relative train speeds, ballasted railway track samples were subject to combined vertical-horizontal cyclic loading. Three areas were explored: 1) the performance benefit from placing geogrid at the ballast-subballast interface, 2) the performance benefit from placing geogrid at the subballast-subgrade interface, 3) the effect of subgrade stiffness on geogrid performance at the subballast-subgrade interface. Testing was performed using a unique large-scale true triaxial apparatus which had the ability to vary stress levels in three Cartesian directions. Compared to the control conditions, the geogrid offered a settlement improvement of approximately 35% when placed at the ballast-subballast interface, and 10-15% when placed at the subballast-subgrade interface. Regarding subgrade CBR, it was found that the geogrid offered the greatest performance benefits when the subgrade was soft. Therefore, it was concluded that for the ballasted rail structures under test, when subject to elevated levels of horizontal stress, geogrids reduced settlements compared to non-geogrid solutions.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100247
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214391219300789
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/22143912
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Yu, Z
  • Woodward, P K
  • Laghrouche, O
  • Connolly, D P
• Publication Date: 2019-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • Transportation Geotechnics
  • Volume: 20
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 2214-3912
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22143912

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Ballast (Railroads); Ballast mats; Geogrids; Railroad safety; Railroad tracks; Repeated loads; Speed
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01711680
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 2019 7:58AM