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This paper presents the results of a series of large-scale cyclic triaxial tests conducted on ballast subjected to increased load and frequency of loading. For a given loading, the laboratory test data demonstrate that the resilient modulus of ballast is influenced by the frequency of loading. Both strain hardening and strain softening can be observed in response to increasing magnitude of load and frequency. A correlation between the resilient modulus and bulk stress is introduced to describe both the strain-hardening and strain-softening behaviour of ballast under different frequencies. A good corroboration between the cyclic stress ratio and the accumulated permanent strain and the resilient strain is demonstrated.

In this paper, a sustainable approach for reducing lateral displacement in a track by increasing the confining pressure in the track substructure is demonstrated by placing a cellular rubber (tyre) membrane infilled with crushed ballast, as an alternative to a traditional capping layer of compacted granulates. Plate-load tests on a single tyre filled with gravel and subjected to a vertical load were carried out to investigate the interaction between tyre and gravel. A track model with tyre reinforcement was created to evaluate the performance of a tyre-reinforced capping layer under cyclic loading, and a numerical model was developed to determine the benefit that tyres would provide to railway substructure, especially when spent ballast is recycled as capping layer materials.

This paper describes a 3D finite element (FE) model developed to understand the dynamic response of a ballasted track in which the underlying capping layer is reinforced using recycled rubber tires. Track deflection, the lateral spreading of ballast and vertical stress transmitted from the capping layer to the subgrade are discussed by considering the effect of reinforcement provided by these infilled tires. In this respect, the capping layer is confined and has improved damping properties. The cellular structure of the rubber tire assembly can radially confine the infilled materials, and thus reduce excessive lateral spreading and vertical displacement that would otherwise occur in a conventional track. At the same time the tire and gravel composite layer acts like a stiff but flexible “mattress” that controls the stress transmitted to the underlying subgrade while making it more uniform. Typical soft and stiff subgrade materials were used to investigate the dynamic response of track, and the stress paths of subgrade at different depths have been studied. It is noted that the effect of the tire assembly on the stress distribution within the subgrade decreases with depth, and the tire-reinforced track deflects less than its unreinforced counterpart at any given train speed.

As the heavy haul freight trains become longer and heavier, ballast grain experience pronounced breakage and deformation, resulting in the deterioration of the ballasted track substructure. Suitable soil stabilisation approaches using geosynthetics and/or energy-absorbing rubber mats are commonly employed to enhance the stability and longevity of ballasted tracks. This paper reviews the research studies that have been conducted at the University of Wollongong on track technology using advanced laboratory and computational modelling, as well as real-life health monitoring of selected track sections. Full-scale instrumented field monitoring supported by Australian rail organisations has been carried out to obtain measurements of actual stresses and displacements and thereby evaluate track performance supplemented by computational models. In the past decade, the authors have tested varied types of geosynthetics and rubber mats both in the laboratory and in the field where these geoinclusions were put underneath the ballast layer in tracks built on various subgrade types (i.e. soft and hard subgrades). Stresses induced by traffic, ballast degradation, vertical and lateral displacements of the ballast aggregates were routinely recorded using extensive instrumentation systems. These results provide suitable approaches that can be considered into current track design for future heavy and long freight train travelling at higher speeds.

In this study, a series of monotonically drained triaxial tests were conducted using the large-scale cylindrical triaxial apparatus. The effect of particle breakage and confining pressure on the mechanical behaviour of ballast were investigated. Based on the experimental findings, mathematical expressions for critical state stress ratio and specific volume are proposed to incorporate the evolution of particle breakage during monotonic shearing. An elasto-plastic constitutive model is formulated within the critical state soil mechanics framework in order to capture the stress-strain behaviour and degradation of ballast. The non-linear variation of shear strength envelope at a given range of confining pressures is taken into account. Mathematical expressions for shear hardening and stress-dilatancy relations are proposed. The constitutive model is calibrated against the results of large-scale laboratory tests and further validated using experimental results available from past independent studies. It is proved that the proposed method can promisingly predict the deformation of the ballast layer in a typical railway environment.

The need for long-term performance of rail infrastructure has now become imperative because heavy-haul railways are expected to withstand higher speeds and heavier axle loads, especially for enhanced productivity in mining and agriculture sectors. However, the degradation of ballast particles and associated track deformation impose a significant impact on the cost of maintenance. Although various existing techniques can be used to reduce the extent and frequency of maintenance without removing the superstructure, this study elucidates a novel method of confining the upper subballast stratum (i.e., capping) with energy-absorbing rubber tire cells to provide increased stability and resiliency to the track substructure. The results of this study verify that a capping layer confined with recycled rubber tire cells can actively reduce ballast degradation and particle movement within the track substructure. A favorable reduction in track settlement and lateral spreading of particles is also attained when broadly-graded finer gravels are selected to form a compacted capping layer just beneath the ballast layer.

Rubber tyres have a three dimensional cylindrical structure, and as such could be used to stabilise foundations by increasing the bearing capacity and reducing settlement for transport infrastructure. It is therefore expected that in railroad engineering, a capping layer reinforced with rubber tyres could help to reduce the thickness of the granular layer (i.e. ballast), improve the track bearing capacity, and reduce the frequency of maintenance. However, there is a notable gap between the conceptual theories and real-life applications pertaining to the mechanisms of rubber tyre-reinforced foundations. In pavement engineering, the bearing capacity is closely linked to plate load tests. In this study, plate load tests were carried out on a single tyre filled with subballast material and subjected to a vertical load. This testing process was then modelled using the Finite Element software ABAQUS to study and quantify the interaction between the tyre and the granular medium. The experimental and numerical results reveal that the rubber tyre can significantly increase the modulus and ultimate bearing capacity of the granular layer. The numerical process was further extended to a finite element track model to demonstrate the expected response of a ballasted railway track with and without tyre reinforcement.

Ballasted rail tracks are the most important mode of transportation in terms of traffic tonnage serving the needs of bulk freight and passenger movement, but under train loads, the particles degrade due to breakage and the progressive accumulation of external fines or mud-pumping under the subgrade, all of which reduce its shear strength and increase track instability. These actions adversely affect the safety, passenger comfort and efficiency of tracks, as well as enforcing speed restrictions and more frequent track maintenance. In spite of advances in rail track geotechnology, the optimum choice of ballast for track design is still considered critical because ballast degradation is influenced by the amplitude and number of load cycles, particle gradation, track confining pressure and the angularity and fracture strength of individual grains. One of the most effective methods of enhancing track stability and reducing the stresses transmitted to a soft subgrade layer is to increase the stiffness of the overlying granular media. This paper presents our current knowledge of rail track geomechanics, including important concepts/topics related to laboratory testing and computational modelling approaches used to study the load–deformation behaviour of ballast improved with waste tyres, synthetic geogrids and geocells.

A series of large-scale cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on latite basalt aggregates (ballast) to investigate how the frequency f affects the permanent deformation and degradation of railway ballast. During testing the frequency was varied from 5 Hz to 60 Hz to simulate a range of train speeds from about 40 km/h to 400 km/h. Three categories of permanent deformation mechanisms were observed in response to the applied cyclic loads, namely, the inception of plastic shakedown (f ≤ 20 Hz), then plastic shakedown and ratcheting (30 Hz ≤ f ≤ 50 Hz), followed by plastic collapse at higher frequencies (f ≥ 60 Hz). The permanent strain of ballast and particle breakage increased with the frequency and number of load cycles. A cyclic strain ratio was introduced to capture the effect of frequency on the permanent axial and volumetric strains, respectively. An empirical equation was formulated to represent this relationship for latite basalt, and a critical train speed was identified. A good correlation was obtained between particle breakage and volumetric strain under cyclic loading.