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Deformation Of Coal Fouled Ballast Stabilized With Geogrid Under Cyclic Load, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Buddhima Indraratna

This paper presents the results of laboratory investigations into the deformation of coal fouled ballast stabilized with geogrid at various degrees of fouling. A novel track process simulation apparatus was used to simulate realistic rail track conditions subjected to cyclic loading, and the void contamination index (VCI) was used to evaluate the level of ballast fouling. The experimental results show that coal fines act as a lubricant, causing grains of ballast to displace and rotate, and as a result, accelerate its deformation. However, coal fines also reduce ballast breakage because of a cushioning effect, that is, by reducing interparticle attrition. …