A Study of Environmental and Track Factors that Contribute to Abrasion Damage of Concrete Ties

Details

• Creators:
  Riding, Kyle A ; Peterman, Robert J. ; Guthrie, W. Spencer ; Brueseke, Matthew ; Mosavi, Hossein ; Daily, Koby
• Corporate Creators:
  Kansas State University
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Concrete
  • Concrete ties
  • Abrasion
  • Ballast (Railroads)
  • Drainage
  • Maintenance of specific facilities
  • Railroad maintenance facilities Concrete ties
  • tie abrasion
  • mud pumping
  • ballast fouling
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FRA/ORD-19/38
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Technical Report, April 2016 – August 2017
• Contracting Officer:
  Cameron D. Stuart
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development, and Technology
• Abstract:
  Kansas State University (KSU), the University of Florida, and Infrastructure Research, LLC inspected 36 railroad track sites with suspected concrete bottom tie abrasion to determine track and environmental factors that contribute to tie abrasion. This research was conducted between April 2016 and August 2017. Field investigations revealed that abrasion occurs in diverse geographic locations around the U.S. and is a source of continued maintenance concern for railroads. Water appeared to be a significant factor involved in concrete bottom tie abrasion. Ballast fouling, center-binding cracking, rail surface profile variations, and large track movement during loading was seen in locations with concrete bottom tie abrasion. Bumps or track stiffness changes were often found at locations of abrasion damage. Specifically, some locations with known stiff track conditions exhibited significant abrasion damage.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTFR53-16-C-00009
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/42508/dot_42508_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 100.06 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Railroad Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:09ab9d7318c645db957f5d47eff712003679cecb576912ab0a1bac47b1b976a2c53a85a2aa4d406919db0c88ac53469ea5d9383242c5838c5d59c0e9825309c8