The Effect of Steel Reinforcement Number on the Resistance of Rail Sleepers of Passenger Railway

Abstract

The train is a mode of transportation that offers characteristics and advantages because of its ability to transport passengers and goods in bulk, efficiently, sparingly on space use, and safely. The comfort and safety of the train cannot be separated from the structure of the train and the existing rail structure. A railway system generally consists of train buildings (carriages) and railroads. The rail structure consists of the rail itself, under which there are railway sleepers and a foundation or ballast. The sleeper serves as the foundation on which the rail rests. The materials used for sleepers are of various kinds, such as wood, steel, or reinforced concrete. Concrete or reinforced concrete with tension steel helps receive a load from the train tracks and wheels. Therefore, the sleepers can withstand impact loads. This study aims to analyze the effect of impact loads and sleeper reinforcement variations on railway sleepers’ resistance. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to model and analyze the sleeper performance after impact loading. The variety of reinforcement used is 4, 6, and 8 rods with 7-type formations. The results that can be obtained are in the form of stress, load, and displacement values. The value of the stress on the whole system is 1860 MPa. The maximum load value is 245.33 kN for variations of 6 reinforcements formations 1. The displacement value is 14.03 mm. The simulation results and graphs show that the correct arrangement and number of reinforcements can increase the resistance of the railway sleeper.