Lecture 2
Lecture 2
Lecture 2
GRDAMAND MOHAMMED
[email protected]
Lecture 2
Lecture Contents
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
BALLAST PROPERTIES
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
BALLAST FOULING
2
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
3
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
4
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
2. Visual Inspection
• Regular visual inspection (including video inspection from
vehicle mounted cameras) is vital so that all safety related
problems can be corrected rapidly.
• This particularly includes rail breaks.
5
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
2. Visual Inspection
• Visual inspection will also identify areas of ballast which
have become badly contaminated.
• A dirty slurry will be visible at the surface.
• There will also be splash marks where the pressure of a
passing train has caused the slurry to spray up (termed
pumping).
• The result is very obviously visible.
6
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
7
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
8
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
4. Radar Survey
Radar is becoming
increasingly used for
thickness and condition
assessment on railways.
It has advantages over
ballast sampling in that
a continuous profile can
be derived. It is also a
fairly rapid process,
speed being dependent
on the degree of
accuracy required.
9
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
4. Radar Survey
Issues:
It is not possible to discriminate between layers of
similar material;
Radar normally has to be calibrated against ballast
sample data;
Radar can also pick up moisture changes – at least
approximately.
10
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
5. Structural Evaluation
It would be useful to
establish the strength or
stiffness of the trackbed
directly, measuring it in
some way. Nowadays,
this is possible using the
‘Falling Weight
Deflectometer’ (FWD).
11
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
5. Structural Evaluation
Falling weight applied to
a sleeper
Sensors pick up
movement of loaded
sleeper and others
12
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
5. Structural Evaluation
By assessing the relative deflections of different sleepers or
points on the ballast surface, it is possible to deduce
(approximately) the stiffness of both the ballast and the
subgrade. A knowledge of subgrade stiffness is particularly
important for maintenance design.
13
TRACKBED DETERIORATION / MEASUREMENT
14
BALLAST PROPERTIES
1. Particle Strength
• Even rock is not infinitely strong! Rocks used for railway
ballast have a crushing strength of something over 100MPa.
• (a train axle load – say 200kN distributed over more than one
sleeper – generates an average stress in the ballast of around
150kPa; BUT the ballast is not solid rock – the local stress at
the contact between the sleeper and individual particles will
be much, much higher, even over 100MPa)
15
BALLAST PROPERTIES
1. Particle Strength
• If an individual particle is overstressed, it will fracture and
the ballast particles will re-orientate themselves.
• Fracturing will continue until re-orientation means that
there are enough particle contacts, for each not to be at too
high stress.
16
BALLAST PROPERTIES
17
BALLAST PROPERTIES
Stress
1st 10th 100th B 1000th
Strain
A
18
BALLAST PROPERTIES
19
BALLAST PROPERTIES
21
BALLAST PROPERTIES
22
BALLAST PROPERTIES
23
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
1. Strength and Permanent Deformation
Ballast is a frictional soil. Therefore it has an angle of friction.
Normal Force
Shear Movement of
Stress stone
Shear
Force
B
Note: this effect does not require
A the stones to break (although that
would make it easier!)
- typically about 50
Normal Stress
So, stress at or above the line shown (Point C) will definitely cause failure. This means
that there is enough shear stress to force one stone to ‘ride up’ over another.
24
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
25
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
26
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
100%
% of slipped
particle
contacts
(on a
particular
Ultimate shear
shear plane)
strength = tan ×
normal stress
increasing shear
A B C
27
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
1. Strength and Permanent Deformation
OK. So the train load causes a certain percentage of particle
contacts to slip (i.e. fail locally). Then it goes away. What
happens? There are 2 possibilities.
a) if the slip is not too great, then the unloading may allow
the particle to slip right back to where it started,
b) if the slip is too great then, unless there is a load the other
way (unlikely), the particle never finds its way back;
irreversible deformation (though only local) has occurred.
28
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
1. Strength and Permanent Deformation
29
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
1. Strength and Permanent Deformation
The effect of all this:
Shear
strain C
B
A: If the shear is not too great, almost all slips ‘recover’ – negligible deformation.
B: More shear and some will never recover – some deformation every load cycle.
C: Approach failure stress and many will not recover – rapid accumulation of
deformation.
30
PERMANENT DEFORMATION WITHIN BALLAST
Other Effects
31
BALLAST FOULING
33
BALLAST FOULING
34
BALLAST FOULING
• The result is that certain parts of the ballast layer change
from being a single sized material to being much more
broadly graded.
• The exact nature of the resulting material depends on the
nature of the fines present.
• If clay has come up from the subgrade, then the properties
are likely to be particularly bad.
35
BALLAST FOULING
2. So What is the Problem? - WATER
Effect of Fouling
Dry: ballast is a
pure frictional
material
Wet: water near
contact points; may
give suction
Very Wet: positive
pore pressures =
reduced strength &
stiffness
37
BALLAST FOULING
Suction: improved
properties
Positive Pore
Pressure: much worse
properties
38
BALLAST FOULING
Ballast is cheaper, easier and requires no awkward decisions.
Concrete guarantees a better, safer, faster, less disrupted
train service BUT it costs more.
40
BALLAST FOULING
In practice,
• the ‘easy maintenance’ requirement dictates the use of
granular material.
• The fouling problem requires the use of an open grading
and the crushing resistance is provided by the use of very
hard stones.
• But there is an on-going debate as to whether the best
solution has been reached.
• This is particularly important when ballast is re-used after
cleaning.
41
…next lecture
SUB-BALLAST AND SUBGRADE
INHERENT TRACK QUALITY
‘BEAM ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION’ ANALYSIS
42