Field test program of the concrete crosstie and fastening system

To adequately satisfy the demands placed on North America’s railway infrastructure through ever increasing freight tonnages and development of its high speed rail program, the design and performance of concrete crossties and elastic fastening systems must be upgraded. As a part of a study aimed at improving concrete crossties and fastening systems, field experimentation was performed at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, CO by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This paper focuses on the transfer of vertical and lateral loads through the system, demonstrating the demands of the fastening components (e.g. insulators, fastening clips) and concrete crossties. Measurements of strain and displacement are provided to quantify the flow of forces through critical interfaces and the physical response of the system under various parameters (track curvature, train speed, car weight, etc.). The data was collected synchronously with measurements of vertical and lateral loads to deterministically track the load path, target areas of uncertainty, and provide validation for a comprehensive finite element model developed by UIUC. Improvements to these instrumentation strategies will also be discussed, as the understanding of the load path and development of the computational model direct the focus to more purposeful measurements for testing to be conducted in May 2013. Finally, the analysis of this data will be used to guide future research in further quantifying the field loading demands, ultimately leading to a mechanistic design approach for the concrete crosstie and fastening system.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Grasse, Justin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lange, David A.

• railroad engineering
• concrete crosstie
• fastening clip
• field instrumentation
• mechanistic design
• load path

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Justin Grasse

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/44161

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/44161