01478914

Component

Between 1980 and 2008, traffic on Class 1 railroads has increased 93% and total track length has decreased 42%, leading to a substantial increase in traffic density and maintenance requirements. To improve maintenance techniques for problematic railway elements (i.e., bolted rail joints, intersections, bridge approaches, etc.), an in situ method involving polyurethane reinforcement of the ballast layer is proposed. Ever increasing volume, tonnage, and speeds on our nation’s rail system are stressing rail substructure to levels never before evaluated or considered in depth. Ballast is a crucial material for structural support of rail tracks and trains. The structural integrity of seriously fouled ballast (i.e., containing fine particles) can be compromised leading to track instability and ultimately, train derailments. An application using polyurethane void filling and particle bonding technology has been developed and has the potential to mitigate impacts of ballast fouling, enhance rail freight capacity, and improve track-substructure maintenance efficiencies. The purpose of this paper is to present the mechanical properties of polyurethane-stabilized ballast (PSB) (e.g., compressive and flexural), compare these properties to other materials commonly used in transportation infrastructure (e.g., natural aggregates, cement-stabilized soil, etc.), and address the suitability of PSB for use in track-infrastructure. PSB has mechanical properties similar to cement-stabilized soil (CSM) (i.e., flexural strength), but much greater than ballast (i.e., compressive strength), which is critical for the benefit of stabilization in track-substructure. The ease of injections and negligible curing period for PSB makes it an attractive alternative for railway maintenance, especially for time-sensitive maintenance activities, such as intersections and bridge approaches.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AR050 Railroad Track Structure System Design.

01470560

13-4262

English

19p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References

Ballast (Railroads); Compressive strength; Flexural strength; Mechanical properties; Modulus of resilience; Polyurethane resins; Stabilized materials

Design; Materials; Railroads; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways; I30: Materials

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-4262

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:49PM