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UW Madison
Geological and
Geotechnical
Engineering
Geo|og|ca| Lng|neer|ng 1ransportanon Geotechn|cs C|v|| & Lnv|ronmenta| Lng|neer|ng
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Andrew Keene, Jim Tinjum, Tuncer Edil, and Randy Brown
Railway Substructure Stabilization with
Polyurethane Injections
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Outline
! Background
Problem
Motivation
! Materials
Rigid-Polyurethane Foam (RPF)
Polyurethane-Stabilized Ballast (PSB)
! Methods for Mechanical Property Evaluation
Plastic deformational behavior
Compressive and flexural properties
! Feasibility of Strategically Placed Polyurethane Layer in
Track-Substructure
Evaluate track mechanical behavior after stabilization
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Background: Railway Track Components
! Deterioration in the substructure leads to permanent deformation in
the track, threatening rail operations
! Prevent track deformation while enhancing rail operations
! Ballast layer deteriorates under numerous loading repetitions
Problem:
Objective:
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Motivation: Track Maintenance Costs
! Maintenance of ballast is $500M/ year
For 150,000 km of Class 1 freight rail in the US,
(Chrismer and Davis 2000)
Fouling Level Increases During Service Life of Track
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Types of Fouling
(Ebrahimi et al. 2010)
Coal Fouling Mineral Fouling Clay Fouling
Non-Cohes|ve Iou||ng (|.e., between 4 & 200) Cohes|ve Iou||ng (|.e., 200)
P4 = 4.75 mm; P200 = 0.075 mm
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UW-Madison Railroad Research
! Mitigating Ballast Fouling Impact and Enhancing Rail
Freight Capacity
Prevent ballast layer deterioration and track deformation
Enhance railway track capacity and maintained capabilities
Polyurethane reinforcement of ballast layer is proposed
Steve
Reed
Dr. Randy Brown Andrew Keene
Ben
Warren
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Materials: Uretek USA Inc. Polyurethane
! Uretek Polyurethane: Rigid-Polyurethane Foam
High density, expanding, thermoset, resin system
! Reaches 90% of full compressive and tensile strength in
15 minutes
! Research Involves Use of Technology With Rail Ballast
Rigid-Polyurethane Foam (RPF)
Polyurethane-Stabilized Ballast (PSB)
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Methods: Large-Scale Cyclic Triaxial (LSCT)
300-m
m

600-mm
Cyclic loading machine
to simulate railway traffic
Automated data acquisition
system (LabView)
Axle load: 20, 30, and 40 tons
Equivalent to:
Deviator Stress, ! = 300 kPa
Confining Stress, ! = 90 kPa
(Ebrahimi 2011)
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Flexural Beam Testing
L = 0.4 m
Unconfined Compressive Strength Testing
L = 0.76 m
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0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
300 350 375 400
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Deviator Stress, "
d
(kPa)
Fouled Ballast, FI 5% & MC 15%
Clean Ballast
PS-Clean Ballast
PS-Fouled Ballast, FI 25% & MC 15%
PS-Recycled Ballast, P25.4 mm & R19 mm
Results: Stabilized and Un-stabilized
MC = % Moisture Content
FI = Fouling Index (%)= P4+P200
Clean Ballast Reference Line
PS = Polyurethane Stabilized
P4 = 4.75 mm
P200 = 0.075 mm
Tested over 200,000 loading repetitions in cyclic triaxial compression
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PSB and Constituent Mechanical Properties
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PSB RPF Ballast
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#
RPF
= 200 kg/m
3
#
b
= 1,580 kg/m
3
RPF = Rigid Polyurethane Foam
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Material Property Summary
! Mechanical Properties
PSB plastic deformational behavior far less than clean
ballast, recycled ballast, and fouled ballast
PSB elastic moduli typically less than ballast
! Further Considerations and Restated Questions:
Effect of lower modulus on overall track response?
Fatigue lifecycle for PSB layers?
! Next Step: Modeling PSB in Track-Substructure
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PSB Model Percolation-Injection
RPF = Rigid Polyurethane Foam
! Concept: Model percolation-
injection method for PSB
stabilization
! Goal: Determine track elastic
response
! Result: Areas of lower modulus
did not have negative impact
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3DView
Longitudinal View
Lateral View
PSB Trackbed Layer
PSB Model Subsurface-Injection
! Concept: Model subsurface-injection method
for PSB trackbeds
! Goal: Determine strain at base of layer for
input into analytical fatigue model
! Result: Strain measured would give PSB
fatigue lifecycle at 500-1000 MGT
RPF = Rigid Polyurethane Foam
!
t
= Flexural Strain

(Rose & Konduri 2006)
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Conclusions
! Mechanical Properties
PSB outperforms other track-substructure materials
PSB had typically higher elastic deformational behavior
! Feasibility of Stabilization in Track-Substructure
Stabilization does not have negative impact on elastic response
Injection methods are feasible for track stabilization
PSB can greatly increase track mechanistic lifecycle
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<'"=)/-"*> &? @"-0&'-"'$!.#"-&' 8A"#) 7;
Future Work
! Ballast Stabilization with Polyurethane:
Evaluation of polyurethane-stabilized ballast with varying levels of fouling
and water content
Use of method in field-scale tests or track maintenance operations
! Warning System and Inspection Project:
Correlate fouling conditions found using GPR and TDR with track
deformation measure with FOS
Select track segment for case study evaluation of inspection methods
! University of Wisconsin-Madison Rail Research:
Incorporate results from Mechanistic and non-destructive evaluation
research into test track or field application
Continue to advance geotechnical approaches for enhancing track
inspection techniques, maintenance prediction, and sustainability using
mechanistic-based research
Evaluate impacts of frac sand loads on new and existing Wisconsin rail
infrastructure
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<'"=)/-"*> &? @"-0&'-"'$!.#"-&' 8A"#) 7E
Questions?
Acknowledgements
! Center for Freight Infrastructure
Research and Education (CFIRE)
! Uretek USA Inc.
! UW-Madison Laboratory Staff:
William Lang
Xiaodong Buff Wang
! Special Thanks To:
Dr. Ali Ebrahimi
Zhipeng Su
References
ASTM Standards, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA
Ebrahimi, A. (2011). Deformational Behavior of Fouled Railway
Ballast. PhD thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Ebrahimi, A. and Keene, A.K. Maintenance Planning of Railway Ballast,
In proceedings of the AREMA 2011 Annual Conference,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 18-22.
Keene, A. (2012). Mitigating ballast fouling and enhancing rail-freight
capacity. MS thesis, Dept. of Civil and Env. Eng., University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
Rose, J.G. & Konduri, K.G. (2006). "KENTRACKA Railway Trackbed
Structural Design Program." AREMA 2006 Annual Conference,
Louisville, Kentucky, September 17-20.
Gizem Bozkurt
Ben Warren