Abstract
A 45 m section of a railway embankment located at Fort Saskatchewan County in Alberta, Canada, was remediated as a part of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP) Grade Stabilization/Remediation Plan. The embankment materials were replaced while a 4.6 m wide reinforcing geotextile (Mirafi® RS580i) and a 7.3 m wide wicking geotextile (Mirafi® H2Ri) were installed in the ballast and sub-ballast interface and between the subgrade and sub-ballast, respectively, aiming to address issues such as poor drainage and moisture retention. The studied site consists of an instrumented track including a remediated and an adjacent control section that provided the opportunity to measure volumetric water content (VWC) within the sub-ballast and clayey subgrade at both configurations. The VWC variation with seasonal weather change is continuously monitored by nine moisture sensors, and an antecedent precipitation index (API) model was developed to evaluate the influence of precipitation events on the VWC in both sections and to interpret the impact of the in situ VWC on the unsaturated strength of the soil according to the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) results. An initial evaluation of the moisture-suction relationship has shown that the subgrade soil strength is improving within the remediated section; nonetheless, these trends are anticipated to be more consistent with long-term observation.
Highlights
Railways are essential for the transportation of goods and people throughout Canada, having an important role in the economy
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the inclusion of a wicking geotextile in a railway embankment in terms of the drainage properties and soil strength of the embankment materials
The preliminary antecedent precipitation index (API) model considered rainfall as well as snowfall by using an snow-water equivalent (SWE) model which improved the accuracy of the model
Summary
Railways are essential for the transportation of goods and people throughout Canada, having an important role in the economy. It is, crucial to design these structures to maintain good conditions while keeping the maintenance work as short as possible. One of the main factors that affect the track performance is the drainage capability of the track, which should be related to the local climatic and soil conditions when designing a railway system (Indraratna et al 2011 [9]; Li et al 2002 [11]; Rushton and Ghataora 2014 [12]). Indraratna et al (2012) [9] mentioned that the use of geotextiles, when appropriately designed and installed, can be a cost-effective alternative to improve the drainage of railways
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