• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.270-280
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• 2014

In this study, to examine the causes of cracks in continuously reinforced concrete tracks (CRCTs) and the main factors affecting cracking, a field survey on the status of cracks and crack patterns in the Gyeong-bu high speed line was conducted, and the crack patterns of CRCT due to the temperature difference between the top of the slab (TCL) and the bottom of the subbase (HSB) and the drying shrinkage of concrete were predicted by a nonlinear finite element model considering the structure of CRCT. The results of the numerical analysis show that cracks will be developed at the interface between the sleeper and the TCL, and under the sleeper due to the temperature difference and concrete shrinkage. This corresponds well to the crack locations found in the field. Also, it is found that the most significant factors are the coefficient of thermal expansion with respect to the temperature difference, and the drying shrinkage strain with respect to shrinkage. According to the results, the reinforcement ratio should be carefully determined considering the structures of CRCT because the crack spacing is not always proportional to the reinforcement ratio due to the sleepers embedded in the TCL.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.355-364
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• 2014

The restrained volume changes of concrete due to variations of temperature and moisture produce transverse cracks in continuously reinforced concrete tracks (CRCTs). Such cracks are known to significantly affect the behaviors and long-term performance of CRCT. To investigate the effects of the transverse cracks on the behavior of CRCT and to develop more reasonable maintenance standards for cracks, in this study, the stress distribution of the track concrete layers (TCL) and the hydraulically stabilized base course (HSB) with transverse cracks were numerically predicted by a three dimensional finite element analysis when CRCT was subjected to train loads. The results indicate that the bending stresses of TCL and vertical stresses at the interfaces between TCL and HSB increased as the cracks were deepened. In addition, vertical stresses were locally concentrated near reinforcing steel in cracks in TCL when full-depth cracks developed, which may lead to punch-outs in CRCTs. Comparably, the effects of crack width and spacing were not as significant as crack depth. This study indicates that ensuring the long-term performance of CRCTs requires adequate maintenance not only for crack width and spacing but also for crack depth. Our results also show that locating HSB joints between sleepers is beneficial to the long-term performance of CRCTs.

• Computational Structural Engineering
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.16-23
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• 2016