界面特性及填料粒径影响格栅加筋性能的离散元研究

为研究筋土界面细观结构演化及填料粒径对加筋效果的影响,采用“clump”方法开发了可模拟砂土性状的椭球形颗粒,建立三维离散元模型并结合室内试验结果验证了模型的正确性,系统分析了拉拔阻力、格栅应变、局部孔隙率等力学响应并揭示了其发展规律。拉拔试验结果显示大粒径填料置换后表观黏聚力提高显著而摩擦角变化不大,进行宏细观分析后发现,置换体系颗粒发生了更大程度的位置重排,拉拔力增量主要来源于摩擦阻力。研究成果可为从细观角度探究筋土界面机理提供新的认识。     

Laboratory and field investigation of the effect of geogrid-reinforced ballast on railway track lateral resistance

Continuous welded rail (CWR) tracks have particular advantages over common tracks with jointed rails such as increased ride comfort, reduced noise and vibration and decreased maintenance costs due to the removal of joints in rail connections. Alternatively, some complications associated with CWR tracks, for instance increased lateral forces, are the main reason of track buckling and its subsequent lateral deformation. These problems are usually more severe in curved tracks. In order to overcome the large lateral forces caused by temperature deviations of CWR tracks which results in railway vehicle instability, the ballasted track lateral resistance should be improved. Among the various methods proposed in this area, no specific study has been carried out on the effect of geogrid reinforcement on ballasted track lateral resistance. Thus, the present research was allocated to investigating the effect of geogrid on the lateral resistances of both single tie and track panel via laboratory and field tests. In this regard, at the first stage, the ballast layer was reinforced with various number of geogrid layers, the effect of which was investigated by conducting the single tie push test (STPT) in the lab environment to assess the optimum number of geogrid layers and their installation levels along the ballast layer thickness. Afterwards, a test track was executed in the field including various sections which were reinforced in the same way as the lab tests. Consequently, many STPTs and track panel displacement tests (TPDTs) were accomplished. As a result, the STPTs in the lab and field confirmed more than 31% and 42% increase in single tie lateral resistance for ballast layers reinforced respectively with one and two geogrid layers, while these values were reached to 29% and 40% in the case of TPDT.     

Novel soil-pegged geogrid (PG) interactions in pull-out loading conditions

In current study, large-scale pull-out tests were conducted to examine the behavior of a novel reinforcement system named “Pegged Geogrid” (PG) under pull-out loading condition. Metal pegs were combined with geogrid to enhance resistance to pull-out. Incorporating pegs with geogrids alleviates bolting, welding, clamping, increasing geogrid length or making alterations to the geogrid as recommended by previous researchers. Peg roots are simply inserted/driven through apertures into the soil, nailing the geogrid to the lower and subsequently the upper backfill layers. Effects of soil particle size, normal pressure, peg length, width, and numbers has been evaluated using two sandy and a gravely soil. Results show that inclusion of pegs significantly enhances soil passive resistance contribution to pull-out. Increasing the width and number of pegs, resulted in enhancing passive soil resistance activation in front of the bearing surfaces and thus greater pull-out resistance augmented by soil particle size and normal pressure. Displacements corresponding to maximum pull-out forces gradually improved by peg width and strain distribution along geogrid in the PG system progressively became linear in contrast to the non-linear distribution in the conventional soil-geogrid (NG) system. Normal pressure was more influential on enhancing pull-out resistance in coarser soil.     

Effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement in improvement of mechanical behavior of sand-contaminated ballast

Vertical stiffness and shear strength of ballasts are significantly degraded when contaminated with sands. There is a lack of solutions/studies related to strengthening ballast against sand contamination. Addressing this limitation, a comprehensive laboratory investigation was made on effectiveness of geogrid reinforcement for improvement of mechanical properties of sand-contaminated ballast. To this end, large-scale direct shear tests as well as plate load tests were conducted on geogrid-reinforced ballast samples prepared with different levels of sand contamination. The obtained results indicate that geogrid reinforcement considerably improves shear strength and vertical stiffness of contaminated ballast. A bandwidth was obtained for contamination levels in which ballast reinforcement is effective. Through examining geogrid with different aperture sizes and locations in the ballast layer, the best performance conditions of geogrid reinforcement were derived. The results were used to propose an effective method of ballast reinforcement and an efficient ballast maintenance approach in sandy areas.     

Behavior of geogrid-reinforced ballast under various levels of fouling

This paper presents a study of how the interface between ballast and geogrid copes with fouling by coal fines. The stress-displacement behavior of fresh and fouled ballast, and geogrid reinforced ballast was investigated through a series of large-scale direct shear tests where the levels of fouling ranged from 0% to 95% Void Contamination Index (VCI), at relatively low normal stresses varying from 15 kPa to 75 kPa. The results indicated that geogrid increases the shear strength and apparent angle of shearing resistance, while only slightly reducing the vertical displacement of the composite geogrid-ballast system. However, when ballast was fouled by coal fines, the benefits of geogrid reinforcement decreased in proportion to the increasing level of fouling. A conceptual normalized shear strength model was proposed to predict this decrease in peak shear stress and peak angle of shearing resistance caused by coal fines at a given normal stress.     

Experimental and numerical analysis of large scale pull out tests conducted on clays reinforced with geogrids encapsulated with coarse material

The pullout test is one of the methods commonly used to study pullout behavior of reinforcements. In the current research, large pullout tests (i.e. 100 × 60 × 60 cm) have been conducted to investigate the possibility of pullout resistance enhancement of clays reinforced with HDPE geogrid embedded in thin layers of sand. Pullout tests on clay–geogrid, sand–geogrid and clay–sand–geogrid samples have been conducted at normal pressures of 25, 50 and 100 kPa. Numerical modeling using finite element method has also been used to assess the adequacy of the box and geogrid sizes to minimize boundary and scale effects. Experimental results show that provision of thin sand layers around the reinforcement substantially enhances pullout resistance of clay soil under monotonic loading conditions and the effectiveness increases with increase in normal pressures. The improvement is more pronounced at higher normal pressures and an optimum sand layer thickness of 8 cm has been determined for maximum enhancement. Results of numerical analysis showed the adequacy of the box and geogrid length adopted as well as a relatively good agreement with experimental results.     

Effects of transverse members on geogrid pullout behavior considering rigid and flexible top boundaries

Geogrid pullout tests have been regarded as the most direct and effective way to describe the interfacial behavior between geogrid and soil. To investigate the coupled effects of geogrid transverse members and top-loading boundaries on the geogrid-soil interaction, numerical simulations of geogrid pullout tests using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) were carried out in this study. The rigid top boundary was simulated by a rigid wall, while the flexible top boundary was modeled with a string of bonded particles that could rotate and move up and down freely. The coupled effects of geogrid transverse members and top boundary conditions on the geogrid-soil interaction under pullout loads were visualized not only by the force distributions along the geogrids and in the specimens but also by the displacements of soil particles and geogrids. Additionally, the quantitative geogrid force and strain distributions along the geogrids, the lateral force distributions on the front walls, and the vertical displacements of top boundaries also showed the influence of transverse members on the geogrid pullout behavior considering the rigid and flexible top boundaries. The DEM investigation results of this study may provide helpful guidelines for regulating the geogrid pullout test apparatus and methods.     

Discrete Element Modeling for fouled railroad ballast

Fouling refers to the condition of railroad ballast when voids in this unbound aggregate layer are filled with relatively finer materials or fouling agents commonly from the ballast aggregate breakdown, outside contamination such as coal dust from coal trains, or from subgrade soil intrusion. This paper aims to investigate the effect of fouling on ballast strength and stability. Fouling mechanism was first explained followed by investigation of mechanical properties of fouling agent. Coal dust was chosen as the fouling agent due to its poor mechanical properties and it had been reported to mostly decrease aggregate assembly strength comparing to other fouling agents. An image-aided Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) approach was introduced to simulate the coal dust fouled track field settlement performance. To that end, DEM model parameters for clean and coal dust fouled ballast were validated by matching the DEM direct shear box simulation results to the laboratory shear box testing results for both samples. By assigning laboratory calibrated model parameters to the “half-track” ballast sample generated in DEM, effects of different fouling percentage as well as different fouling locations on ballast settlement performance are studied. Results from the “half-track” DEM simulation revealed that fouling could lead to unfavorable track distresses such as “hanging tie”. Further, shoulder fouling scenario was proven to be critical in track maintenance.     

循环荷载下土工格栅加筋铁路道床累积#br# 沉降模型试验研究

散粒体道床层的循环累积变形是有砟轨道沉降的主要来源，文章采用有砟轨道路基模型试验来研究道砟层与底砟层间布置土工格栅加固道床控制有砟轨道沉降，开展了高速和重载等不同列车荷载下与不同类型土工格栅加固条件下的多组循环加载试验，加载过程中全程监测道砟层累积沉降、轨枕振动、道砟层底部土压力与土工格栅应变数据并进行分析，以研究土工格栅控制有砟轨道道床沉降的作用机理。研究结果表明：土工格栅对于控制道砟层累积沉降具有较显著的效果，但当土工格栅的刚度达到一定程度后刚度对土工格栅控制沉降效果的影响不大；土工格栅能够显著减小轨枕下方道砟层土压力峰值，从而降低道砟磨耗破碎程度及由此引起的道床沉降；道砟层累积沉降的发展意味着道砟颗粒的错动，而道砟颗粒的错动与位移将引起嵌锁于道砟层中的土工格栅发生张拉，从而土工格栅将反过来对道砟颗粒的进一步位移错动形成侧向约束，体现于宏观即表现为道砟层累积沉降得到控制。     

Compaction-induced stress in geosynthetic-reinforced granular base course——A discrete element model

A discrete element method (DEM) model was used to simulate the development of compaction-induced stress in a granular base course, with and without geogrid reinforcement. The granular base course was modeled as a mixture of uniformly sized triangular particles. The geogrid was modeled as a series of equally spaced balls that interact with each other through long-range interaction contacts. The long-range interaction contact was also used to simulate a deformable subgrade. The compactor was modeled as a solid cylinder rolling at a constant speed. The DEM model shows that the geogrid-reinforced granular base course gains additional compaction-induced stress due to the residual tensile stress developed in the geogrid. The residual tensile stress in the geogrid increases with the number of compaction passes. Parametric analyses were also conducted to assess the effects of geogrid stiffness and subgrade modulus on the compaction-induced stress.     

Interaction between geogrid reinforcement and tire chip–sand lightweight backfill

This paper deals with the interaction between the geogrid and the tire chip–sand mixture including the determination of the index properties of the backfill materials, the shear strength parameters, the interaction coefficients, and the efficiency of geogrid reinforcements in tire chip–sand backfills. Numerous experiments including index tests, compaction tests, pullout tests, and large-scale direct shear tests were conducted. Saint–Gobain (geogrid A) and Polyfelt (geogrid B) were selected as reinforcing materials. Tire chip–sand mixtures with mixing ratios of 0:100, 30:70, 40:60, and 50:50 by weight were used as fill materials. The test results revealed that the dry unit weight of tire chip–sand mixtures depended more on the sand content, and less on the water content. The mixture at the mixing ratio of 30:70 by weight or 50:50 by volume was found to be the most suitable fill material compared to other mixing ratios. The pullout resistance and the pullout interaction coefficients of geogrid A were slightly higher than those of geogrid B. In contrast, in the direct shear resistance, the direct shear interaction coefficients, and the efficiency values of geogrid B were slightly higher than those of geogrid A. Since geogrid B has the needed uniaxial reinforcement properties and its sufficient interaction characteristics with tire chip–sand mixture, the geogrid B was utilized in this study. The interaction coefficients between the tire chip–sand backfill with 30:70 mixing ratio by weight were found to be 0.71 in pullout mode and 0.92 in direct shear mode for geogrid B.     

A new approach for evaluating lateral resistance of railway ballast associated with extended sleeper spacing

Recently, attempts have been made to replace wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers with expanded sleeper spacing, especially on conventional railway lines. By extending sleeper spacing in the replacement process, the number of sleepers required is lower. A reduction in the number of sleepers can reduce replacement costs. Behind this attempt to change materials and spacing is the generally held notion the lateral resistance of a ballast is unchanged after the change in the sleeper spacing, whether it is a wooden or a concrete sleeper. However, the changes in the interference degrees of adjacent sleepers and in the rail weight supported by each sleeper are expected to affect the lateral resistance of the ballast. They can change the lateral stability of ballasted tracks in a more complicated fashion than the simple effect of a reduced number of sleepers. However, the current standard design does not consider the combined effects of these changes on the lateral resistance of a ballast. Accordingly, the design of ballasted tracks with extended sleeper spacing cannot be optimized.Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the lateral resistance characteristics of a ballast as associated with changes in the sleeper spacing of conventional railway lines. First, single-sleeper pullout tests were conducted on models based on various sleeper spacing conditions to evaluate the lateral resistance of the ballast. The effect of the rail weight on the lateral resistance of the ballast was determined from the test results. An increased frictional resistance at the sleeper bottom was considered to contribute to an increase in the lateral resistance; thus, the friction angle between the ballast and sleeper bottom was used to evaluate the degree of increase. Subsequently, track panel pullout tests were conducted by simulating an expansion of the sleeper spacing. Based on the test results, the effect of the interference between adjacent sleepers on the lateral resistance per sleeper was investigated. The obtained results were quantitatively modeled as a function by using the sleeper width as a parameter (as normalized by the sleeper spacing). Finally, a new approach was proposed for estimating the lateral resistance of a ballast which considered the change in the sleeper spacing for conventional railway lines. The method considered the combined effects of change in the interference of adjacent sleepers and in the rail weight supported by each sleeper on the lateral resistance. Based on the results calculated by the proposed method, practical applications were examined by determining the extent to which the sleeper spacing could be increased without reducing the lateral resistance of the ballast when replacing wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers. It was demonstrated that the proposed method could improve the estimation accuracy of the lateral resistance of a ballast track with extended sleeper spacing.     

压实度对红层泥岩土中土工格栅拉拔性能影响的试验研究

通过室内拉拔试验,研究压实度对土工格栅与红层泥岩界面拉拔性状的影响,试验结果表明,土工格栅在红层泥岩中主要表现为拔出破坏。随着压实度的增大,在一定程度上提高筋土界面的峰值剪应力;在压实度一定的情况下,随着竖向应力的增加,筋土界面剪应力峰值增大,其对应的剪切位移减小。由于土与土工格栅接触面的剪胀造成该类接触面的界面剪应力峰值与竖向应力不再是线性关系。     

筋土界面变形破坏模式细观试验研究

利用自制的模型试验设备,在平潭标准砂中对玻纤网布和土工格栅进行了一系列拉拔试验,应用数字照相变形量测技术,从细观角度研究土工合成材料(片状的和格栅状的)接触界面的变形模式,得出接触面的形式和厚度,还研究了土工格栅横肋作用下土体的破坏模式。接触界面区域在传统意义上并不被认为是剪切带,本文模型试验的结果表明二者在本质上是一致的。在土工格栅拉拔试验中,土工格栅的位移逐步从前部向后部发挥,出现上下两条接触面区域,其厚度在密砂和松砂拉拔试验中相当于5倍和7.5倍平均颗粒直径;在玻纤网布拉拔试验中,只出现一条接触面,其厚度为7.5倍平均颗粒直径;随着位移的增加,格栅横肋在土中的最大剪应变集中区域呈“x”形,但并不对称。本文揭示了加筋土的宏细观力学机理,研究内容、方法和主要结论可为类似的研究提供参考,并从细观机理上为接触界面的研究提供新的认识和理解。     

Characterization of the Fouled Ballast Layer in the Substructure of a 19th Century Railway Track Under Renewal

The purpose of these field and lab studies undertaken during rehabilitation work being done on an ancient railway line was to characterize a layer of ballast fouled with soil found in the track substructure. The field studies included the characterization of the thickness, grain size distribution and void ratio of the fouled ballast layer, as well as a large number of plate load tests, both on the fouled ballast layer and on the subgrade. The resilient behaviour of the fouled ballast was evaluated in the lab by cyclic triaxial tests on large size reconstituted specimens with distinct fouling indexes (different grain size distribution) and distinct humidity states (dry or wet). The results obtained were used as support for the decision to maintain the fouled ballast layer under the new sub-ballast in a number of stretches of the renewed line.     

Large scale direct shear tests of soil/PET-yarn geogrid interfaces

The interface shear strength of soil against geosynthetic is of great interest among the researchers in geosynthetic properties. This study conducts a series of large scale direct shear tests to investigate the interface shear strength of different soils (sand, gravel, and laterite) against PET-yarn geogrids of various tensile strengths, percent open area, and aperture patterns. First, the appropriateness of different set-ups of a lower shearing box is examined in this study. It reveals that a lower box which is filled with the test soil and is of the same size as the upper box is more suitable for testing the soil/geogrid interface. The test results show that the soil/PET-yarn geotextile interface has significantly lower shear strength than soil strength. The ratio of shear strength soil/PET-yarn geotextile interface to internal shear strength of soil is about 0.7–0.8 for Ottawa sand and for laterite, and it is about 0.85–0.95 for gravel. On the other hand, the soil/geogrid interface has higher shear strength. The ratio of shear strength soil/PET-yarn geogrid interface to internal shear strength of soil is about 0.9–1.05. It is found that the shear strength ratio of soil/PET-yarn geogrid interface is positively correlated to the transverse tensile strength of the PET-yarn geogrid. However, it is negatively correlated with the aperture length and percent open area of the PET-yarn geogrid. The interface shear test results of PET-yarn geogrid against different soils are compared with the test results predicted by a classical model for analyzing the applicability of the classical model. Further, a simple model is proposed herein to estimate the bearing resistance provided by the transverse ribs of geogrid. It shows this component to be about 0–15% when PET-yarn geogrid is against Ottawa sand or laterite, while it is smaller when the PET-yarn geogrid is against gravel.     

土工格栅与土相互作用的有限元分析

本文提出了土工格栅在拉拔状态下与土相互作用的有限元分析方法。土对格栅的阻力可用非线性弹簧来模拟，弹簧的非线性特性曲线可通过专门设计的小型拉拔试验槽来测定。简要介绍了威尔士大学按试行的欧洲标准研制的大型土工格栅拉拔试验设备。有限元分析结果与用该设备进行的试验结果有很好的一致性。     

大型数控拉拔试验系统的研制及应用

跟踪国内外研发现状,结合交通部西部膨胀土项目的开展,研制了CS-LB01大型数控土工合成材料拉拔试验系统。该系统具有试件尺寸大、可采用恒力或恒速两种控制方式实现土工合成材料在不同填料中的拉拔试验、较真实模拟实际工况的特点。加载方式也因上下箱体顶(底)面设置气囊并辅以稳压伺服控制系统、设法消除填土受上下盒侧壁的摩阻影响而更加科学合理。此外,采用高精度拉力和位移传感器、自行开发数据采集分析系统并配套填料压实和起吊辅助设备,使整个系统的人工智能化水平大大提高。试验表明,该系统能较好模拟土工格栅在膨胀土中的工作状态,准确提供筋土界面间的受力、变形及变化规律,从而方便试验参数的采集及对土中加筋作用机理的研究。     

Effect of particle shape on the response of geogrid-reinforced systems: Insights from 3D discrete element analysis

Understanding soil-geogrid interaction is essential for the analysis and design of reinforced soil systems. Modeling this interaction requires proper consideration for the geogrid geometry and the particulate nature of the backfill soil. This is particularly true when angular soil particles (e.g. crushed limestone) are used as a backfill material. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) discrete element model that is capable of capturing the response of unconfined and soil-confined geogrid material is developed and used to study the response of crushed limestone reinforced with geogrid and subjected to surface loading. The 3D shape of the crushed limestone is modeled by tracing the surface areas of a typical particle and fitting a number of bonded spheres into the generated surface. Model calibration is performed using triaxial tests to determine the microparameters that allow for the stress-strain behaviour of the backfill material to be replicated. To demonstrate the role of particle shape on the soil-geogrid interaction, the analysis is also performed using spherical particles and the calculated response is compared with that obtained using modeled surfaces. The biaxial geogrid used in this study is also modeled using the discrete element method and the unconfined response is compared with the available index test results. This study suggests that modeling the 3D geogrid geometry is important to accurately capture the geogrid response under both confined and unconfined conditions. Accounting for the particle shape in the analysis can significantly enhance the predicted response of the geogrid-soil system. The modeling approach proposed in this study can be adapted for other reinforced soil applications.     

An analytical model for particle-geogrid aperture interaction

The shear strength of geogrid-reinforced ballast is often dependent on the aperture size of geogrids and the nominal size of ballast. This paper presents a theoretical analysis based on probabilistic mechanics of how aperture size affects the interaction between particles and geogrid. Unlike past literature, in this study, the properties of the particle size distribution is analysed using a Weibull distribution. The probability of grain interlock is proposed to describe the interactive mechanisms between particles and geogrids based on the relative particle size, which is defined as the ratio of particle size to aperture size. The mathematical model is calibrated by a set of large-scale direct shear tests with almost single-size (highly uniform) ballast aggregates, and then validated by independent set of data taken from both literature and current study. The study concludes that more uniform particle size distribution increases the probability of grain interlock at the optimum aperture size but decreases it at non-optimum aperture sizes.