Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Field dynamic performance testing and analysis of polyurethane track and ballasted track in a high-speed railway

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The dynamic performances of a polyurethane-reinforced ballast bed and an unreinforced ballast bed at an operation site were tested by using the impact excitation technique. The influences of the ballast beds with and without polyurethane reinforcement on the natural frequency were investigated, along with the vertical and longitudinal vibration transmission characteristics of the track structure. The results show the following. Compared to the ballast bed, the polyurethane ballast bed has an inhibitory effect on the rail vibration in the range of 200–400 Hz, but there is an increased rail vibration amplitude in the higher frequency range. The polyurethane-reinforced ballast bed significantly increases the amount and amplitude of the dominant vibration frequencies of the sleeper. As the frequency increases (> 90 Hz), the superstructure of the polyurethane track rapidly transfers from being flexible to rigid, and the track thus absorbs and dissipates the impact load, quickly damping the vibration in the range of 90–470 Hz. The calculation results of the displacement transmission ratio (DTR) proposed in this study also support this finding, suggesting the use of DTR to more intuitively evaluate the vibration damping effect of each component of the track. The polyurethane material reinforces the ballast bed rather than the damping vibration, thereby improving the stability of the track structure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Esveld C (2001) Modern railway track, 2nd edn. Delft university of Technology, Delft

    Google Scholar 

  2. Indraratna B, Salim W, Rujikiatkamjorn C (2011) Advanced rail geotechnology–ballasted track. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Tutumluer E, Qian Y, Hashash YM, Ghaboussi J, Davis DD (2013) Discrete element modelling of ballasted track deformation behaviour. Int J Rail Transp 1(1–2):57–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/23248378.2013.788361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jing G, Ding D, Liu X (2019) High-speed railway ballast flight mechanism analysis and risk management—a literature review. Constr Build Mater 223:629–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.06.194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. McDowell GR, Lim WL, Collop AC, Armitage R, Thom NH (2005) Laboratory simulation of train loading and tamping on ballast. In: Proceedings of the institution of civil engineers-transport. Thomas Telford Ltd., vol 158, No 2, pp 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1680/tran.2005.158.2.89

  6. Sysyn M et al (2020) Experimental study of railway ballast consolidation inhomogeneity under vibration loading. Pollack Periodica 15:27–36. https://doi.org/10.1556/606.2020.15.1.3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Quinn AD, Hayward M, Baker CJ, Schmid F, Priest JA, Powrie W (2010) A full-scale experimental and modelling study of ballast flight under high-speed trains. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part F: J Rail Rapid Transit 224(2):61–74. https://doi.org/10.1243/09544097JRRT294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kruglikov AA, Yavna VA, Ermolov YM, Kochur AG, Khakiev ZB (2017) Strengthening of the railway ballast section shoulder with two-component polymeric binders. Transp Geotech 11:133–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2017.05.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Boler H (2012) On the shear strength of polyurethane coated railroad ballast

  10. Lakušić S, Ahac M, Haladin I (2010) Track stability using ballast bonding method. In: 10th Slovenian road and ttransportation congress, p 332

  11. Keene A, Edil T, Tinjum J (2012) Mitigating ballast fouling and enhancing rail freight capacity (No. CFIRE 04-07). National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (US)

  12. Keene A, Edil T, Fratta D, Tinjum J (2013) Modeling the effect of polyurethane stabilization on rail track response. In: Geo-congress 2013: stability and performance of slopes and embankments III, pp 1410–1419. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784412787.141

  13. Woodward PK, Kennedy J, Medero GM, Banimahd M (2012) Application of in situ polyurethane geocomposite beams to improve the passive shoulder resistance of railway track. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part F: J Rail Rapid Transit 226(3):294–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954409711423460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Woodward PK, Kennedy J, Medero GM, Banimahd M (2012) Maintaining absolute clearances in ballasted railway tracks using in situ three-dimensional polyurethane geocomposites. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part F: J Rail Rapid Transit 226(3):257–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954409711420521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Woodward PK, Kennedy J, Laghrouche O, Connolly DP, Medero G (2014) Study of railway track stiffness modification by polyurethane reinforcement of the ballast. Transp Geotech 1(4):214–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2014.06.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kennedy J, Woodward PK, Medero G, Banimahd M (2013) Reducing railway track settlement using three-dimensional polyurethane polymer reinforcement of the ballast. Constr Build Mater 44:615–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kaewunruen S (2014) Dynamic responses of railway bridge ends: a systems performance improvement by application of ballast glue/bond. In: Proceedings of the second international conference on railway technology: research, development and maintenance, Ajaccio, Corsica, France. https://doi.org/10.4203/ccp.104.75

  18. Thomas S, Woodward P, Laghrouche O (2015) Influence of stiffening ballasted track bed overlying a masonry arch bridge using a polyurethane polymer material. Constr Build Mater 92:111–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.06.098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Remennikov A, Kaewunruen S (2006) Experimental investigation on dynamic railway sleeper/ballast interaction. Exp Mech 46(1):57–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-006-5868-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kaewunruen S, Tang T (2019) Idealisations of dynamic modelling for railway ballast in flood conditions. Appl Sci 9(9):1785. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9091785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lam HF, Wong MT, Yang YB (2012) A feasibility study on railway ballast damage detection utilizing measured vibration of in situ concrete sleeper. Eng Struct 45:284–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2012.06.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kaewunruen S, Remennikov AM (2007) Field trials for dynamic characteristics of railway track and its components using impact excitation technique. NDT E Int 40(7):510–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2007.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kaewunruen S, Remennikov AM (2007) Investigation of free vibrations of voided concrete sleepers in railway track system. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part F: J Rail Rapid Transit 221(4):495–507. https://doi.org/10.1243/09544097JRRT141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Kaewunruen S, Remennikov AM (2007) Effect of improper ballast packing/tamping on dynamic behaviors of on-track railway concrete sleeper. Int J Struct Stab Dyn 7(01):167–177. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219455407002174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Kaewunruen S, Remennikov AM (2008) Experimental simulation of the railway ballast by resilient materials and its verification by modal testing. Exp Tech 32(4):29–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1567.2007.00298.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Liu J, Wang P, Liu G, Xiao J, Liu H, Gao T (2020) Influence of a tamping operation on the vibrational characteristics and resistance-evolution law of a ballast bed. Constr Build Mater 239: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117879

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. China. TMOR. Code for design of railway track (TB/T 10082-2017): railway Industry Standard of the People’s Republic of China, 2017

  28. China. TMOR. Railway Ballast (TB/T 2140-2008): Railway Industry Standard of the People’s Republic of China, 2008

  29. China. State Standardization Management Committee of The General Administration of Quality Supervision IAQO. Hot-rolled steel rails for railway (GB/T 2585-2007): Standards Press of China, 2007

  30. China. TMOR. Spring clip-II fastenings Part 2: Spring clip (TB/T 3065.2-2002): Railway Industry Standard of the People’s Republic of China, 2002

  31. China. TMOR. Prestressed concrete sleeper Type I, II and III (TB/T 2190-2002): Railway Industry Standard of the People’s Republic of China, 2002

  32. Yang X, Qie L, Wang H (2019) Mechanical properties of polyurethane ballast bed based on discrete element method (in Chinese). J Tongji Univ (Nat Sci) 47(08):1156–1161

    Google Scholar 

  33. Lazarević L, Vučković D, Popović Z (2016) Assessment of sleeper support conditions using micro-tremor analysis. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part F: J Rail Rapid Transit 230(8):1828–1841. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954409715615629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lazarević L, Vučković D (2018). Assessment of sleeper stability in ballast bed using micro-tremor sampling method. In: Energy management of municipal transportation facilities and transport. Springer, Cham, pp 290–299

  35. Thomson W (2018) Theory of vibration with applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  36. De Man AP (1996) Determination of dynamic track properties by means of excitation hammer testing. Rail Eng Int 25(4)

  37. Slutsky AS (1993) Mechanical ventilation. Chest 104(6):1833–1859. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.104.6.1833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Panossian HV (1992) Structural damping enhancement via non-obstructive particle damping technique. J Vib Acoust. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2930221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhai W, Wang K, Cai C (2009) Fundamentals of vehicle–track coupled dynamics. Veh Syst Dyn 47(11):1349–1376. https://doi.org/10.1080/00423110802621561

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. ANSYS 2018, Ansys, Inc., USA

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1734207), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2682018CX01).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Zhenwei Xiong and Jianxing Liu contributed equally to the article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MOE Key Laboratory of High-speed Railway Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Zhenwei Xiong, Jianxing Liu, Ping Wang, Ganzhong Liu, Jieling Xiao & Sixin Yu

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Zhenwei Xiong, Jianxing Liu, Ping Wang, Ganzhong Liu, Jieling Xiao & Sixin Yu

Authors
  1. Zhenwei Xiong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jianxing Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ping Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ganzhong Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jieling Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sixin Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

ZX: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing original and revised drafts. ZX and JL contributed equally to the article. JL: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing original and revised drafts. PW: Methodology, Visualization, Resources. GL: Investigation, Software, Resources. JX: Supervision, Validation, Project administration. SY: Investigation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianxing Liu.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xiong, Z., Liu, J., Wang, P. et al. Field dynamic performance testing and analysis of polyurethane track and ballasted track in a high-speed railway. J Civil Struct Health Monit 11, 867–877 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-021-00489-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13349-021-00489-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation