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Characterization of the mechanical behavior of the fine soil of railway subgrade under heavy train loading

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Abstract

Evaluating the behavior of a railway subgrade, especially if it is constituted of fine-grained materials, requires consideration of the unsaturated aspect of their behavior and the characteristics of railway traffic. In this study, interest is focused on the characterization of the mechanical behavior of subgrade soil on a cut section of a railway located in Gabon. More specifically in analyzing the effect of the increase in the axle load on the subgrade material by consolidated undrained (CU) triaxial tests on reconstituted soil specimens. The studied material is known as pelite or mud. The objective of this study is first to perform monotonic CU triaxial tests to determine the failure characteristics under fully and near saturated condition and to analyze the effects of the saturation degree and void ratio on the soil strength. Cyclic CU triaxial tests were then performed to study the accumulation of the deformation within the studied material during cyclic loading. Monotonic CU triaxial tests showed that in the near saturated condition, the subgrade material already exhibited much greater strength but in the fully saturated condition, its strength was strongly reduced. Its stress-deformation behavior can change from ductile to brittle between fully and near saturated condition. Cyclic CU triaxial tests showed that in the fully saturated condition, the accumulated permanent deformations due to the passage of the heaviest axle stabilize but remain quite large. However, in the near saturated condition, the accumulated deformations are reversible as the soil is denser.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to SETRAG (company exploiting the Trans-Gabon Railway) and COMILOG (Ogooué Mining Company) for supporting this research project. The authors also thank the national agency of Gabon scholarships (ANBG).

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Author notes

  1. Mathilde Morvan and Pierre Breul contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Clermont Auvergne, Institut Pascal, 63178, Aubière, France

    Bilal Yoka, Mathilde Morvan & Pierre Breul

  2. Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Ecole Polytechnique de Masuku, 901, Franceville, Gabon

    Bilal Yoka

Authors
  1. Bilal Yoka
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  2. Mathilde Morvan
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  3. Pierre Breul
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Bilal Yoka, Mathilde Morvan, and Pierre Breul. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Bilal Yoka and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bilal Yoka.

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Yoka, B., Morvan, M. & Breul, P. Characterization of the mechanical behavior of the fine soil of railway subgrade under heavy train loading. Bull Eng Geol Environ 82, 390 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-023-03401-2

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