Testing the ultimate resistance at the sleeper/ballast interface

摘要

Today's trains place ever greater and more complex loads on track infrastructure. In the UK,high speed tilting passenger trains have been introduced permitting enhanced speeds on curved sections of track.Maximum axle loads on freight trains may be permitted to increase from 25 to 30 tonnes; some sleepers suchas the G44 have been designed with this in mind. Although vehicles undergo testing before entering service,the long term implications of the new loading regimes are not clear. In particular, the increased curving speedsof tilting trains introduce combinations of vertical lateral and moment loading onto the track which are notexplicitly considered in the design or maintenance of railway track. The paper describes the development of atesting apparatus able to simulate combined vertical, horizontal and moment loading of a railway sleeper as maybe experienced in service, and presents some preliminary data of sleeper and ballast behaviour.