Discrete element modelling of rubber-protected ballast performance subjected to direct shear test and cyclic loading

Yunlong Guo*, Yameng Ji, Qiang Zhou, Valeri Markine, Guoqing Jing

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)
80 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The rubber-protected ballast (RPB) is made from natural ballast particles and crumb rubber particles. The crumb rubber is shredded waste tires. RPB was chosen to replace the ballast as it has higher resistance to breakage and abrasion. However, the static and dynamic performance of the RPB has not been confirmed yet. Towards this end, experimental tests and numerical simulations were utilized to study the feasibility of RPB application. Direct shear tests (DSTs) were performed and a DST model and three-sleeper track model with the discrete element method (DEM) were built. The shear strength, settlement, displacement, and acceleration of the RPB were studied. The results show that the RPB has the advantage of increasing the force (stress) distribution and that the smaller crumb rubber size was more suitable for replacing the ballast particles.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2836
Pages (from-to)1-31
Number of pages31
JournalSustainability
Volume12
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Ballast degradation
  • DEM
  • Dynamic performance
  • Railway ballast
  • RPB

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