Engineering Commons^™

The Behaviour Of Ballasted Track Foundations: Track Drainage And Geosynthetic Reinforcement, Buddhima Indraratna, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Nayoma Chulani Tennakoon

Buddhima Indraratna

Ballasted Rail tracks are widely used throughout the world due to its resiliency to the repeated wheel loads, low construction cost and ease of maintenance. However, the ballast layer needs periodic maintenance due to its deformation and degradation associated with particle breakage and fouling. A proper understanding of the contamination due to various types of fines and its implications on track drainage is a pre-requisite for effective implementation of track maintenance operations. A new parameter Void Contaminant Index (VCI) can accurately assess the contamination as it includes the effect of void ratio, specific gravity and gradation of ballast and fouling …

The Marked Tree Site: Evaluation Of Geosynthetic Reinforcements In Flexible Pavements, Taylor Mitchell Goldman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document presents findings from a three-year, full-scale, field research project aimed at determining the benefits of using geosynthetic reinforcements to improve the performance of flexible pavements constructed over poor subgrade soils. The test site, known as the Marked Tree site, is an 850-ft (258-m) long segment of low-volume frontage road along Highway 63 in the town of Marked Tree, Arkansas. The site, constructed in 2005, consists of seventeen 50-ft (15.2-m) long flexible pavement test sections with various types of geosynthetic reinforcements (woven and nonwoven geotextiles, and geogrids), which were all positioned at the base-subgrade interface, and two different nominal …

Dimensional Stability Of Geosynthetic Clay Liners In Landfill Applications, Gregory R. Olsen

Master's Theses

An investigation was conducted related to the dimensional stability of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in landfill applications. Multiple occurrences of panel separation of overlap seams in GCLs have been documented; however, explanation for the relative contribution of various mechanisms causing shrinkage has been limited. A systematic test program was conducted to determine the effects of a variety of conditions on GCL dimensional stability.

Effects of initial moisture content, permeant type, and overburden pressure were tested by subjecting various GCL products to wet-dry cycles and measuring the dimensional change with each cycle. Different GCL types were each tested under various combinations …

Stabilisation Of Ballast And Subgrade With Geosynthetic Grids And Drains For Rail Infrastructure, Buddhima Indraratna, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

Rail tracks are often placed on ballast that is intended to provide a free draining and sound load bearing platform to ensure track stability and maintain proper alignment. In recent years, the increased demand of heavier and faster trains has posed greater challenges to the railway industry for improving efficiency and track stability while reducing maintenance costs. High traffic induced stresses always result in large plastic deformations and degradation of ballast, which in turn, leads to significant loss of track stability. The deformation and degradation of ballast are influenced by factors such as the amplitude and number of load cycles, …