Performance improvement of ballasted railway tracks using three-dimensional cellular geoinclusions

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) cellular inclusions such as geocells and scrap rubber tyres improve the engineering properties of the infill materials by providing all-around confinement. Although the 3D geoinclusions possess immense potential in the railway industry, their application is still limited due to a lack of adequate techniques to evaluate the magnitude of improvement provided by these artificial inclusions. This article presents an innovative computational approach to evaluate the effectiveness of 3D cellular geoinclusions in improving the performance of ballasted railway tracks. The proposed method is an integrated approach that combines the additional confinement model with the geotechnical rheological model for a railway track. The methodology is applied to an open track-bridge transition, and the results revealed that the geoinclusions substantially reduce the differential settlement. However, the magnitude of improvement depends on the opening size, placement location within the track and material used to manufacture the cellular inclusions. Moreover, the magnitude of settlement reduction also depends on the axle load and subgrade soil properties. The proposed methodology can assist the railway engineers in assessing the efficacy of 3D inclusions in improving the performance of railway tracks and help select the most appropriate material, size, and location of reinforcement for deriving maximum benefits.