Assessment of the possibility of foam glass application in the sub-ballast layers
Abstract
The paper investigates whether foam glass could reduce the structural thickness of the protection layer in the construction of the railway track (saving of natural materials – crushed aggregate) and, at the same time, also provide sufficient thermal protection of the frost-susceptible subgrade surface. It also discusses whether the incorporation of foam glass would have a relevant effect on the increase of the deformation resistance of the railway track structure at the level of the sub-ballast upper surface. Following these assumptions, the paper presents the results of experimental measurements of the deformation resistance of the modified structural composition of the sub-ballast layers (with an embedded foam glass layer) and their comparison with the results determined on a structure with a standard composition of the sub-ballast layers (crushed aggregate sub-ballast layer/protective layer). Also, numerical and mathematical analysis of the influence of the built-in thermal insulation foam glass layer on the reduction of the structural thickness of the protective crushed aggregate layer in terms of the effect of climatic factors is conducted in the paper. The mathematical model, developed by the research, provides the possibility of continuous monitoring of the change in the railway track structure freezing depending on climatic characteristics.
Keyword : railway track, sub-ballast layers, thermal insulation layers, foam glass, static load tests, climatic factors
How to Cite
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., Holešová, M., & Navikas, D. (2023). Assessment of the possibility of foam glass application in the sub-ballast layers. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 29(3), 253–267. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2023.18429
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., & Pieš, J. (2018). Verification of boundary conditions of numerical modeling of the track substructure thermal regime – influence of the snow cover. Archives of Transport, 48(4), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.8365
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., Holešová, M., & Navikas, D. (2021). Numerical modelling of thermal regime of railway track – structure with thermal insulation (Styrodur). Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 27(7), 525–538. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2021.14903
Kitaygorodskiy, I. I. (1932). Transactions of the All-Union Conference on Standardization and Production of New Construction Materials. Moscow.
Lenart, S., & Kaynia, A. M. (2019). Dynamic properties of lightweight foamed glass and their effect on railway vibration. Transportation Geotechnics, 21, 100276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100276
Li, T.-f., Chen, F., Li, Z.-G., Wilk, S., & Basye, C. (2020). Lightweight foamed concrete subgrade for heavy haul railway. Geosynthetica. https://www.geosynthetica.com/lightweight-foamed-concrete-subgrade-railways
Loranger, B., Kuznetsova, E., Hoff, I., Aksnes, J., & Skoglund, K. A. (2017). Evaluation of Norwegian gradation based regulation for frost susceptibility of crushed rock aggregates in roads and railways. In A. Loizos, I. Al-Qadi, & T. Scarpas (Eds.), Bearing capacity of roads, railways and airfields (pp. 2077–2085). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315100333-275
Lu, J., & Onitsuka, K. (2004). Construction utilization of foamed waste glass. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 16(2), 302–307.
Morgan, J. S., Wood, J. L., & Bradt, R. C. (1981). Cell size effects on the strength of foamed glass. Materials Science and Engineering, 47(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(81)90038-0
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Sadrinezhad, A., Tehrani, F. M., & Jeevanlal, B. (2019, March). Shake table test of railway embankment consisting of TDA and LECA. In Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering (Geo-Congress 2019) (pp. 31–39). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784482100.004
Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing. (2017). Road building. Roads embankments and subgrades (STN 73 6133). Slovak Republic (in Slovak).
Styrodur. (2019). Load-bearing and floor insulation. https://www.styrodur.com/portal/streamer?fid=1225078
Thode, R. (2012). SVHEAT, 2D/3D geothermal modeling software. Tutorial manual. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. https://manualzilla.com/doc/5907794/svheat-tutorial-manual
Vlček, J., & Valašková, V. (2021). Determination of the deformation characteristics of the foam concrete as a sub-base. Journal of Vibroengineering: Theoretical & Practical Aspects of Vibration Engineering, 23(1), 156–166. https://doi.org/10.21595/jve.2020.21108
Woodward, P. K., El Kacimi, A., Laghrouche, O., Medero, G., & Benumahd, M. (2012). Application of polyurethane geocomposites to help maintain track geometry for high-speed ballasted railway tracks. Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A, 13(11), 836–849. https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.A12ISGT3
Bąk, A., & Chmielewski, R. (2019). The influence of fine fractions content in non-cohesive soils on their compactibility and the CBR value. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 25(4), 353–361. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2019.9687
Bian, J., Cao, W., Yang, L., & Xiong, C. (2018). Experimental research on the mechanical properties of tailing microcrystalline foam glass. Materials, 11(10), 2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11102048 https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2019.9687
Buša, J., Pirč, V., & Schrötter, Š. (2006). Numerical methods, probability and mathematical statistics. Košice, Slovak Republic (in Slovak). http://web.tuke.sk/fei-km/sites/default/files/prilohy/1/statnumo.pdf
Directorate General of Railways of the Slovak Republic. (2005). The design of structural layers of subgrade structures (TNŽ 73 6312) (in Slovak).
Directorate General of Railways of the Slovak Republic. (2018). Slovak railway regulation TS4 „Track substructure – Appendix 6“ (in Slovak).
Esveld, C., & Markine, V. L. (2003, August). Use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) sub-base in railway track design. In IABSE Symposium: Structures for High-Speed Railway Transportation (pp. 252–253). Antwerpen, Belgium. https://doi.org/10.2749/222137803796329952
Fredlund, M., & Haihua, L. (2011). ACUMESH, 2D/3D Visualization software (User’s manual). Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Frydenlund, T. E., & Aaboe, R. (2003). Foamglass – a new vision in road construction. In 22nd PIARC World Road Congress. Durban, South Africa. https://www.vegvesen.no/globalassets/fag/fokusomrader/forskning-innovasjon-og-utvikling/07-piarc-frydenlund-foamglass-a-new-vision-in-road-construction.pdf
Ghafari, N., Segui, P., Bilodeau, J. P., Cote, J., & Dore, G. (2019). Assessment of mechanical and thermal properties of foam glass aggregates for use in pavements. In Proceedings of the 2019 TAC-ITS Canada Joint Conference. Halifax, Canada. https://www.tac-atc.ca/sites/default/files/conf_papers/bilodeaujf-assessment_of_mechanical_and_thermal_properties_of_foam_glass_aggregate.pdf
Glapor. (n.d.). Cellular glass gravel. https://www.glapor.de/en/produkte/cellular-glass-gravel/
Gnip, I., Vėjelis, S., & Keršulis, V. (2001). The equilibrium moisture content of low-density thermal insulating materials. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 7(5), 359–365. https://doi.org/10.3846/13921525.2001.10531754
Hisham, N. A. N., Zaid, M. H. M., Aziz, S. H. A., & Muhammad, F. D. (2021). Comparison of foam glass-ceramics with different composition derived from ark clamshell (ACS) and soda lime silica (SLS) glass bottles sintered at various temperatures. Materials, 14(3), 570. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030570
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., Drusa, M., Kadela, M., & Holesova, M. (2022). Experimental and numerical verification of the railway track substructure with innovative thermal insulation materials. Materials, 15(1), 160. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010160
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., & Mečár, M. (2013). Contribution to the methodology of the determination of the thermal conductivity coefficients of materials applied in the railway subbase structure. Communications, 15(4), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.26552/com.C.2013.4.9-17
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., & Mečár, M. (2019, September). Testing the suitability of the reinforced foam concrete layer application in the track bed structure. In 28th Russian – Polish – Slovak seminar. Theoretical Foundation of Civil Engineering. Žilina, Slovakia. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/661/1/012014
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., & Mečár, M. (2020). Testing the suitability of the extruded polystyrene (Styrodur) application in the track substructure. Acta Polytechnica, 60(3), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.14311/AP.2020.60.0243
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., & Pieš, J. (2018). Verification of boundary conditions of numerical modeling of the track substructure thermal regime – influence of the snow cover. Archives of Transport, 48(4), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0012.8365
Ižvolt, L., Dobeš, P., Holešová, M., & Navikas, D. (2021). Numerical modelling of thermal regime of railway track – structure with thermal insulation (Styrodur). Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 27(7), 525–538. https://doi.org/10.3846/jcem.2021.14903
Kitaygorodskiy, I. I. (1932). Transactions of the All-Union Conference on Standardization and Production of New Construction Materials. Moscow.
Lenart, S., & Kaynia, A. M. (2019). Dynamic properties of lightweight foamed glass and their effect on railway vibration. Transportation Geotechnics, 21, 100276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100276
Li, T.-f., Chen, F., Li, Z.-G., Wilk, S., & Basye, C. (2020). Lightweight foamed concrete subgrade for heavy haul railway. Geosynthetica. https://www.geosynthetica.com/lightweight-foamed-concrete-subgrade-railways
Loranger, B., Kuznetsova, E., Hoff, I., Aksnes, J., & Skoglund, K. A. (2017). Evaluation of Norwegian gradation based regulation for frost susceptibility of crushed rock aggregates in roads and railways. In A. Loizos, I. Al-Qadi, & T. Scarpas (Eds.), Bearing capacity of roads, railways and airfields (pp. 2077–2085). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315100333-275
Lu, J., & Onitsuka, K. (2004). Construction utilization of foamed waste glass. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 16(2), 302–307.
Morgan, J. S., Wood, J. L., & Bradt, R. C. (1981). Cell size effects on the strength of foamed glass. Materials Science and Engineering, 47(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(81)90038-0
Nurmikolu, A., & Kolisoja, P. (2005). Extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam frost insulation boards in railway structures. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (pp. 1761–1764). Osaka, Japan. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-656-9-1761
Paunescu, L., Axinte, S. M., Dragoescu, M. F., & Cosmulescu, F. (2021). Adequate correlation between the physical and mechanical properties of glass foam. Journal La Multiapp, 2(4), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.37899/journallamultiapp.v2i4.415
Pieš, J., & Môcová, L. (2019, May). Application of TDR test probe for determination of moisture changes of railway substructure materials. In Proceedings of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019). Nový Smokovec, Slovak Republic. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2019.07.013
Qin, Z., Li, G., Tian, Y., Ma, Y., & Shen, P. (2019). Numerical simulation of thermal conductivity of foam glass based on the steady-state method. Materials, 12(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12010054
Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office. (2018). European mobility week. https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/News/Index/9805
Sadrinezhad, A., Tehrani, F. M., & Jeevanlal, B. (2019, March). Shake table test of railway embankment consisting of TDA and LECA. In Eighth International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering (Geo-Congress 2019) (pp. 31–39). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784482100.004
Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing. (2017). Road building. Roads embankments and subgrades (STN 73 6133). Slovak Republic (in Slovak).
Styrodur. (2019). Load-bearing and floor insulation. https://www.styrodur.com/portal/streamer?fid=1225078
Thode, R. (2012). SVHEAT, 2D/3D geothermal modeling software. Tutorial manual. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. https://manualzilla.com/doc/5907794/svheat-tutorial-manual
Vlček, J., & Valašková, V. (2021). Determination of the deformation characteristics of the foam concrete as a sub-base. Journal of Vibroengineering: Theoretical & Practical Aspects of Vibration Engineering, 23(1), 156–166. https://doi.org/10.21595/jve.2020.21108
Woodward, P. K., El Kacimi, A., Laghrouche, O., Medero, G., & Benumahd, M. (2012). Application of polyurethane geocomposites to help maintain track geometry for high-speed ballasted railway tracks. Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A, 13(11), 836–849. https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.A12ISGT3