NUMERICAL MODELLING OF RAILWAY EMBANKMENTS FOR HIGH-SPEED TRAIN CONSTRUCTED ON SOFT SOIL.

Recently, several mass rapid transit projects have been launched to improve the logistics of trade in Thailand. The railway construction projects linked from Bangkok will be a challenging task for civil engineers since they are located on soft ground conditions. Consequently, an understanding of geomaterial properties and subsoil conditions is important in the design phase. This paper presents a numerical study of railway embankment behaviour when constructed on soft soil. Simplified finite-element modelling was performed to predict stability and deformation characteristics of railway embankments under high-speed design requirements. The construction materials, including ballasts and subgrade soils were selected and tested to characterise their engineering properties. It was found that existing railway embankment conditions exhibit a large degree of movement under a high-speed train load. The study recommends improvements of subgrade conditions, using methods such as cement stabilisation to enhance stability and reduce settlement of the railway embankments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]