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Advancement

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Full-Text Articles in Science and Technology Studies

Advancement Of Rail Ballast Testing Methodologies And Design Implications, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, Fernanda Ferreira Jan 2020

Advancement Of Rail Ballast Testing Methodologies And Design Implications, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn, Fernanda Ferreira

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Given the limited capacity of available railway tracks in Australia to sustain increasingly faster and heavier trains, the development of innovative and sustainable ballasted tracks is essential for Australian transport infrastructure. Upon repeated train loading, ballast aggregates become degraded and fouled owing to the intrusion of external fines either from the subbase or surface, which decreases track drainage potentially leading to track instability. This paper reviews some advancements in testing methodologies and design implications of ballasted tracks stabilized with artificial inclusions, including geocomposites, energy absorbing rubber mats and end-of-life tires. Measured test data shows that the use of these waste …


Advancement In Track Technology - Composite Foundations For Increased Speed And Axle Loads, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn Jan 2018

Advancement In Track Technology - Composite Foundations For Increased Speed And Axle Loads, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

The increasing demand for fast heavy haul services with greater axle loads, as well as high speed commuter trains, poses a serious challenge for the stability of tracks on the problematic ground. The use of artificial inclusions such as polymeric geosynthetics for enhanced soil-structure interaction and rubber mats made from recycled rubber tyres to absorb the strain energy and reduce ballast breakage and track damage is described in this paper as a cost-effective option. In this study, a series of large-scale laboratory tests took place to determine how well these geogrids could attenuate the impact, cyclic stress, and corresponding mitigation …


Two Decades Of Advancement In Process Simulation Testing Of Ballast Strength, Deformation, And Degradation, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn Jan 2018

Two Decades Of Advancement In Process Simulation Testing Of Ballast Strength, Deformation, And Degradation, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper describes salient features of a set of large-scale ballast testing equipment developed at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and how the test results and research outcomes have contributed to transforming tracks in the Australian heavy haul and commuter networks, particularly with regards to the strength, deformation, and degradation of ballast. Ideally, ballast assemblies should be tested in prototype scale under actual loading conditions. This is because a reduction in particle sizes for testing in smaller equipment can reduce the internal angle of friction (shearing resistance) of the granular assembly in a macro sense, and the angularity of the …