Railway track condition indicators from ground penetrating radar

Sussmann, Theodore R.; Selig, Ernest T.; Hyslip, James P.

doi:10.1016/s0963-8695(02)00054-3

Cited by 47 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In some countries, GPR tests have been performed along tracks with the aim of detecting zones with problems in both ballast and subsoil layers. First results have shown that GPR is a reliable technique to assess track geometry problems and consequently to improve maintenance planning [11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPR Laboratory Tests For Railways Materials Dielectric Properties Assessment

2014

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Abstract:In railways Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) studies, the evaluation of materials dielectric properties is critical as they are sensitive to water content, to petrographic type of aggregates and to fouling condition of the ballast. Under the load traffic, maintenance actions and climatic effects, ballast condition change due to aggregate breakdown and to subgrade soils pumping, mainly on existing lines with no sub ballast layer. The main purpose of this study was to validate, under controlled conditions, the dielectric values of materials used in Portuguese railways, in order to improve the GPR interpretation using commercial software and consequently the management maintenance planning. Different materials were tested and a broad range of in situ conditions were simulated in laboratory, in physical models. GPR tests were performed with five antennas with frequencies between 400 and 1800 MHz. The variation of the dielectric properties was measured, and the range of values that can be obtained for different material condition was defined. Additionally, in situ GPR measurements and test pits were performed for validation of the dielectric constant of clean ballast. The results obtained are analyzed and the main conclusions are presented herein.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPR Laboratory Tests For Railways Materials Dielectric Properties Assessment

2014

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“…MASW is used to analyse the propagation wave velocities in soil and the thicknesses of different layers of soil [11]. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) defines the thicknesses of different layers of substructure [12][13]. Down-hole seismic test is suitable for estimating the shear wave velocities of different trackbed materials [14].…”

Section: Site Selection and Prospectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsaturated railway track-bed materials

Cui

2016

E3S Web Conf.

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Abstract. Railway track-bed materials are mostly in unsaturated state, and their hydro-mechanical properties depend strongly on their water contents or suctions. In France, problematic soils such as collapsible loess and swelling marl can be origin of instability problems for new lines for high speed trains, while the hydro-mechanical behaviour of interlayer soil formed mainly by interpenetration of ballast and subgrade soil is of concern for conventional lines. In the latter case, the main challenge relies in the large variability of the interlayer soils owing to the variability of natural subgrade soils involved in the railway network. In this paper, a study on interlayer soils is presented, that covers a large spectrum of aspects: geotechnical/geophysical site characterisation, laboratory investigation into the hydraulic behaviour and mechanical behaviour as well as the mud pumping/interlayer creation phenomena, and field monitoring. The combined effect of water content and fines content were emphasized in the laboratory investigation, whilst interaction between atmosphere and track was focused on in the field monitoring. The results show clearly that it is of paramount importance to consider the unsaturated aspect of track-bed materials when analysing the overall behaviour of tracks, in particular when clay is involved in fine fraction.

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“…The GPR operates by transmitting short electromagnetic waves into the subsurface and recording and displaying the reflected energy. The data obtained from GPR testing is the time domain waveform representing the electromagnetic energy transmitted from the antenna and reflected off subsurface boundaries back to the antenna (Sussmanna et al, 2003). An examination of the reflected radar waveforms enables an interpretation of the material and/or structure under investigation Fig.…”

Section: Ground Penetrating Radar Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%