• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2014

In this study, permanent deformation of asphalt trackbed was investigated by performing repetitive load test on specimen made with dense graded asphalt mixture that was specially prepared for asphalt trackbed foundation. The obtained test results were compared with those computed from the prediction model proposed by AASHTO 2002, called MEPDG. No prediction model adaptable only for permanent deformation of the asphalt trackbed foundation has yet been developed, so the prediction model by AASHTO was adapted in this study to simulate permanent deformation of trackbed foundations in asphalt slab track and in ballasted asphalt track. In order to simulate permanent deformation, a finite element analysis was performed to obtain stresses generated in trackbed due to wheel load. It was found that the predicted permanent deformation was much smaller than the anticipated deformation and that the asphalt track could be stable during the service life of the structure.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.50-54
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• 2015

The primary function of the trackbed in a conventional railway track system is to decrease the stresses in the subgrade to be in an acceptable level. A properly designed trackbed layer performs this task adequately. Many design procedures have used assumed and/or are based on critical stiffness values of the layers obtained mostly in the field to calculate an appropriate thickness of the sublayers of the trackbed foundation. However, those stiffness values do not consider strain levels clearly and precisely in the layers. This study proposes a method of computation of stiffness that can handle with strain level in the layers of the trackbed foundation in order to provide properly selected design values of the stiffness of the layers. The shear modulus values are dependent on shear strain level so that the strain levels generated in the subgrade in the trackbed under wheel loading and below plate of Repeated Plate Bearing Test (RPBT) are investigated by finite element analysis program ABAQUS and PLAXIS programs. The strain levels generated in the subgrade from RPBT are compared to those values from RC (Resonant Column) test after some consideration of strain levels and stress consideration. For comparison of shear modulus G obtained from RC test and stiffness moduli $E_{v2}$ obtained from RPBT in the field, many numbers of mid-size RC tests in laboratory and RPBT in field were performed extensively. It was found in this study that there is a big difference in stiffness modulus when the converted $E_{v2}$ values were compared to those values of RC test. It is verified in this study that it is necessary to use precise and increased loading steps to construct nonlinear curves from RPBT in order to get correct $E_{v2}$ values in proper strain levels.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2016

The asphalt-concrete trackbed system has many advantages in terms of maintenance and economics. However, methods to investigate practical use corresponding to the development of the trackbed system must be developed. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamic performance of the asphalt system in accordance with both the elastic and viscoelastic material characteristics and design thickness of the asphalt trackbed. More specifically, in order to reduce the uncertainty error of the Finite Element(FE) model, a three-dimensional full scale FE model was developed and then the infinite foundation model was considered. Finally, to compare the condition of viscoelastic materials, performance evaluation of the asphalt-concrete trackbed system was used to deal with the dynamic amplification factors; numerical results using isotropic-elastic materials in the FE analysis are presented.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.114-122
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• 2014

An asphalt trackbed is to be adapted in Korea to provide better bearing capacity and stability to the track and a comfortable ride to passengers. The dynamic modulus of Hot Mixed Asphalt(HMA) mixes is a critical design input parameter to determine the thickness of the asphalt trackbed. In this study, impact resonant tests and ultrasonic test methods are designed to obtain the dynamic modulus. These test methods are also verified to check the etffectiveness of constructing a master curve of the dynamic modulus over a wide range of frequencies and temperatures. The test results are compared to the computed dynamic modulus using AASHTO 2002 and the KPRP's proposed model. It can be concluded that the proposed simple test methods are effective to obtain the dynamic moduli of the asphalt mixes for the design of an asphalt trackbed foundation.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.2821-2829
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• 2011

Since the KTX was in operation in 2004, a number of researches on increasing the train speed have been conducted. Currently, the Honam High-speed train system is designed for the operation velocity of 350km/h. The societal demand expects higher operation speed, whereas the existing construction method and design specification are questioned in the KTX operation in the velocity over 350 km/h. In this study, a full-scale model test was conducted to obtain the preliminary data that is necessary to understand deformation characteristics of the reinforced road bed and the subgrade layers. In the full-scale model test, direct arrival seismic tests, crosshole seimic test, in-situ bender element test and sensing bar test were employed to measure the stiffness and deformation of the trackbed. The systematic analysis on the different set of measurements enhances the understanding of the behavior of the trackbed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.204-212
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• 2016

The soils used as trackbed in Korea are selected using USCS utilizing basic soil properties such as Grain Size Distribution(GSD), % passing of #200 sieve ($P_{200}$), % passing of #4 sieve ($P_4$), Coefficient of uniformity ($C_u$), and Coefficient of curvature ($C_c$). Degree of compaction of the soils adapted in the code by KR should be evaluated by maximum dry density (${\gamma}_{d-max}$) and deformation modulus $E_{v2}$. The most important influencing factor that is critical to stability and deformation of the compacted soils used as trackbed is stiffness. Thus, it is necessary to construct a correlation between the modulus and the basic soil properties of trackbed soil in order to redefine a new soil classification system adaptable only to railway construction. To construct the relationship, basic soil test data is collected as a database, including GSD, maximum dry unit weight (${\gamma}_{d-max}$), OMC, $P_{200}$, $P_4$, $C_u$, $C_c$, etc.; deformation modulus $E_{v2}$ and $E_{vd}$ are obtained independently by performing a Repeated Plated Bearing Test (RPBT) and Light Weight Deflectometer Test (LWDT) for ten different railway construction sites. A linear regression analysis is performed using SPSS to obtain the relationship between the basic soil properties and the deformation modulus $E_{v2}$ and $E_v$. Based on the constructed relationship and the various obtained mechanical test data, a new soil classification system will be proposed later as a guideline for the design and construction of trackbed foundation in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.587-598
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• 2008

In the trackbed design using elastic multi-layer model, the stress-dependent resilient modulus is an important input parameter, which reflects substructure performance under repeated traffic loading. The resilient moduli of crushed stone and weathered granite soil were developed using nonlinear dynamic stiffness, which can be measured by in-situ and laboratory seismic tests. The prediction models of resilient modulus varying with the deviatoric or bulk stress were proposed (Park et al., 2008). To investigate the performance of the prediction models proposed herein, the elastic response of the test trackbed near PyeongTaek, Korea was evaluated using a 3-D nonlinear elastic computer program (GEOTRACK) and compared with measured elastic vertical displacement during the passages of freight and passenger trains. The material types of the test sub-ballasts are crushed stone and weathered granite soil, respectively. The calculated vertical displacements within the sub-ballasts are within the order of 1mm, and agree well with measured values with the reasonable margin. The prediction models are thus concluded to work properly in the preliminary investigation. The prediction models proposed for resilient modulus were verified by the comparison of the calculated vertical displacements with measured ones during train passages.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.1712-1723
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• 2008

In the trackbed design using an elastic multi-layer model, the stress-dependent resilient modulus is the key input parameter, which reflects substructure performance under repeated traffic loading. The prediction models of resilient modulus of crushed stone and weathered granite soil were developed from nonlinear dynamic stiffness, which can be combined by in-situ and laboratory seismic measurements. The models accommodate the variation with the deviatoric and/or bulk stresses. To investigate the performance of the prediction models proposed, the elastic response of the test trackbed near PyeongTaek, Korea was evaluated using a 3-D nonlinear elastic computer program (GEOTRACK) and compared with measured elastic vertical displacement caused by the passages of freight and passenger trains. The material types of the test sub-ballasts are crushed stone and weathered granite soil, respectively. The calculated vertical displacements within the sub-ballasts are within the order of 1mm, and agree well with measured values with the reasonable margin. The prediction models are thus concluded to work properly in the preliminary investigation.

• International Journal of Railway
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2013

In this study, cyclic triaxial tests were carried out with the coarse granular materials used in Korean railway infrastructure (reinforced trackbed, gravel of transition zone, upper subgrade of railway) and Young's modulus for the target materials in small strain level were suggested. And the result of elastic modulus suggested in this study is expected to be effectively applied to dynamic analysis of the railway embankment structure using similar material, since the grain size distributions and unit weight of the material tested in this study are specified in Korean Railway Design Criteria.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.45-55
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• 2009

The quality of railroad trackbed fills has been controlled by field measurements of density and bearing resistance of plate-load tests. The control measures are compatible with the design procedures whose design parameter is $k_{30}$ for both ordinary-speed railways and high-speed railways. However, one of fatal flaws of the design procedures is that there are no simple laboratory measurement procedures for the design parameters ($k_{30}$ or, $E_{v2}$ and $E_{v2}/E_{v1}$) in design stage. To overcome the defect, the compressional wave velocity was adopted as a control measure, in parallel with the advent of the new design procedure, and its measurement technique was proposed in the preliminary investigation. The key concept of the quality control procedure is that the target value for field compaction control is the compressional wave velocity determined at optimum moisture content using modified compaction test, and direct-arrival method is used for the field measurements during construction, which is simple and reliable enough for practice engineers to access. This direct-arrival method is well-suited for such a shallow and homogeneous fill lift in terms of applicability and cost effectiveness. The sensitivity of direct-arrival test results according to the compaction quality was demonstrated at a test site, and it was concluded that compressional wave velocity can be effectively used as quality control measure. The experimental background far the companion study (Park et al., 2009) was established through field and laboratory measurements of the compressional wave velocity.