Determining the track condition using soil properties - part 2. (October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schuk, V; Rapp, S; Martin, U; Wang, B
• Is Part Of: IOP conference series. Volume 615(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Subjects: Materials science -- Periodicals; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/615/1/012055
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-8981

Abstract

Abstract: The track condition in conventional ballast construction is decisively determined by the condition of the sub-ballast and the subgrade. An indicator for the assessment of the track condition is the track modulus, which can be calculated by measuring the rail deflection under load or according to the soil properties. The track modulus describes the ratio between vertical loading and elastic deflection of the sleeper support. This is the second of two papers concerning a theoretical approach, which allows the estimation of the track modulus of the soil for the layer arrangement of stiff on soft soil layers by using a homogeneity parameter. The homogeneity parameter has to be considered, so that the influence of the layer arrangement, the layer depth and the soil properties can be examined. Borings with direct ground exploration results and ground penetrating radar measurements are used to determine the soil condition at the track level. After the allocation of the soil properties to each layer, the cone model is used to calculate the average value of the soil properties. Based on the value of the track modulus of the soil, the track condition can then be determined.