ballast

Keynote Presentation at 10th International Conference on Conveying and Handling of Particulate Solids

With increasing train speed and wheel axle load, severe vibrations can occur in a ballasted trackbed, thereby accelerating the degradation of the ballast particles and ultimately causing excessive settlement. To gain insights into the long-term trackbed behavior and the ballast degradation evolution, a full-scale ballasted track experiment with eight sleepers was designed and tested on a validated physical model test platform (ZJU-iHSRT).

The aim is to develop a new understanding of the micromechanics of railway trackbed subjected to dynamic loads induced by high speed trains. This should lead to safer design of high-speed railway systems which require less maintenance and, therefore, are more sustainable.

The overall aim of this project was to relate ground penetrating radar (GPR) to a ballast fouling index (FI). Laboratory research aimed at characterising the electromagnetic properties has enabled researchers worldwide to determine ballast thickness using impulse ground penetrating radar (GPR) - based upon derived values of the relative electrical permittivity or dielectric constant.