United States Department of Transportation
i
Mechanical behavior of fouled polyurethane stabilized ballast (PSB).
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2012-11-01
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[PDF-18.57 MB]
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Abstract:The United State (US) Department of Transportation (DOT) estimates that the demand for rail freight transportation (tonnage) will
increase 88% by 2035, North American railroads spend about $3.4 billion every year on track substructure maintenance and renewal
due to track-component degradation. With increase in traffic density and weight will cause more deformation and consequently more
maintenance of the ballast layer. It is necessary to develop an alternative method in order to decrease maintenance cost. One such
method is injection of polyurethane resin at critical locations in the ballast. It has been demonstrated that this method is effective on
clean ballast as a preventive measure. This study is aimed at evaluating its effectiveness in remediating already fouled ballast. Thus,
clean ballast was mixed with various types of fouling at different amounts, water contents, and sealed in rectangular (76 mm x 76 mm
x 290 mm) and cylindrical (254 mm x 508 mm) molds. The polyurethane was injected into the molds and the specimens were allowed
to cure for 24 hours. This testing protocol was developed to quantify plastic deformation, flexural strength and unconfined
compressive strength of the fouling ballast stabilized by polyurethane. The results show that the injection of polyurethane into fouled
ballast significantly reduces plastic strain, increase strength, and minimize fines intrusion. Increasing amount of fouling material and
water content reduces strength and increase plastic strain. Results of this study are also compared with previous study conducted on
clean ballast induced by polyurethane. It is found that a use of polyurethane injection into the ballast can be a fast and cost effective
solution for maintenance of the railway systems.
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