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Structural behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers produced with high performance recycled aggregate concrete

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Abstract

A comparative analysis of the structural behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers made with high performance concrete (HPC) and high performance recycled aggregate concrete (HPRAC) is presented in this study. Two types of HPRAC sleepers were tested, using 50 and 100% of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in replacement of coarse natural aggregates. The RCA employed in this research was sourced from crushing rejected HPC sleepers. The aim of this study was to determine through analysis if the HPRAC sleepers’ behaviour fulfilled the European minimum requirements standards for prestressed concrete sleepers and compare their experimental behaviour with that of the HPC sleepers. The three types of prestressed concrete sleepers were subjected to static load tests at rail-seat and centre section (positive and negative load). In the centre section tests a comparative study between the experimental results and the proposed values of four assessment methods of ultimate capacity was carried out. Dynamic load and fatigue tests were also performed at the rail-seat section. The HPRACs and HPC sleepers met all the structural requirements for prestressed concrete sleepers. The experimental results determined the satisfactory performance of the HPRAC-50 and the HPRAC-100, which was very similar to that of the HPC sleepers. The load–strain behaviour recorded via the use of strain gauges on the prestressing bars revealed slightly higher stiffness of the HPC sleepers. The values obtained from the four assessment methods of ultimate capacity were also accurate when applied to HPRAC.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of The Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) by the INNPACT Project (IPT-2011-1655-370000) and the technical support of DRACE Infrastructuras S. L. and Instituto de Ciencias de la Construcción Eduardo Torroja.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Jordi Girona, 1-3 B1 Building, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Andreu Gonzalez-Corominas & Miren Etxeberria

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Ignasi Fernandez

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  1. Andreu Gonzalez-Corominas
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  2. Miren Etxeberria
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  3. Ignasi Fernandez
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Correspondence to Miren Etxeberria.

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Gonzalez-Corominas, A., Etxeberria, M. & Fernandez, I. Structural behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers produced with high performance recycled aggregate concrete. Mater Struct 50, 94 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-016-0966-6

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