Finite Element Modeling of Prestressed Concrete Crossties With Ballast and Subgrade Support

Abstract

With the first major installation in North American railroads during the 1960's, concrete ties were believed to last longer than timber ties and have the potential for reduced life cycle costs. However, their characteristic response to initial pretension release as well as dynamic track loading is not well understood. In North America, concrete ties have been found vulnerable to rail seat deterioration (RSD), but the mechanisms contributing to RSD failures are not well understood. To improve such understanding, a comprehensive computational study of the tie response to dynamic track forces is needed. This paper presents an initial research effort in this direction that models concrete crossties as heterogeneous media in threedimensional finite element analyses, i.e., the prestressing strands, concrete matrix and the strand-concrete interfaces are represented explicitly.Damaged plasticity models are employed for the concrete material, and linear elastic bond-slip relations, followed by damage initiation and evolution, are adopted for the strand-concrete interfaces. Further, the ballast is modeled with an Extended Drucker-Prager plasticity model, and the subgrade is modeled as an elastic half space. All material parameters are obtained from the open literature. Currently the rail fastening systems are not included in modeling.Two loading scenarios are simulated: pretension release and direct rail seat loading. The modeling approach is able to predict the deformed tie shape, initial interface deterioration, the compressive stress state in concrete and residual tension in the strands upon pretension release. The transfer lengths of the prestressing strands can be readily calculated from the analysis results. Further predicted are the rail seat force-displacement characteristics and the potential failure mode of a concrete crosstie under direct rail seat loading. The responses of two railroad concrete crossties with 8-strand and 24-wire reinforcements, respectively, are studied using the presented modeling framework. The analyses indicate a potential failure mode of tensile cracking at the tie base below the rail seats. The results show that the 24-wire tie is better able to retain the pretension in the reinforcements than the 8-strand tie, resulting in slightly stronger rail seat force-displacement characteristics and higher failure load. The effects of the load application method and the subgrade modeling on the predicted tie response are further studied.

Finite Element Bond Modeling for Indented Wires in Pretensioned Concrete Crossties

“…The concrete material was modeled with concrete damaged plasticity, and the modeling framework and material parameter calibration were described in detail in previous publications [12][13]. The elasto-plastic bond model development in this paper follows the general plasticity theory and FE procedure described by Zienkiewicz and Taylor [14].…”

Estimating Deterioration in the Concrete Tie-Ballast Interface Based on Vertical Tie Deflection Profile: A Numerical Study

“…A damaged plasticity model capable of predicting the onset and propagation of tensile cracks was applied to the concrete material [9][10]. The steel-concrete interface was homogenized and represented with a thin layer of cohesive elements sandwiched between steel and concrete elements.…”

“…Recent advances in simulation technology using the finite element analysis (FEA) method enables more precise correlation of the concrete tie deflection profile with the concrete tie-ballast interface condition. The Volpe Center has developed realistic FE simulation models for pretensioned concrete crossties [9][10] and particularly interface bond models for various prestressing reinforcement types, including smooth wires, seven-wire strands and indented wires [11][12][13]. The FE model parameters were calibrated from extensive experimental data, and the model predictions of pretensioned concrete tie behavior were verified with test data.…”

Bond between Smooth Prestressing Wires and Concrete: Finite Element Model and Transfer Length Analysis for Pretensioned Concrete Crossties

“…Steel parameters (Young's modulus E and yield strength σ Y ) for the smooth prestressing wire were provided by the manufacturer. Additional material parameters required in the damaged plasticity modeling of concrete were derived from the basic material parameters and the equations outlined in Yu et al (2011) and Yu and Jeong (2012 3.5 in.…”

“…Federal Railroad Administration is currently sponsoring a comprehensive test program at Kansas State University (KSU) to quantitatively correlate prestressing steel and concrete variables with the transfer length of pretensioned concrete crossties. The authors of this paper have been developing detailed concrete tie models for railroad track analyses but often found the available interface material models to be inadequate (Yu et al, 2011, Yu andJeong, 2012). The KSU test program has provided much needed data to develop finite element (FE) bond models for the steel reinforcement-concrete interfaces.…”