Railway Engineering

6th semester

Track Forces & Ballast (Lectures 4)

Subject : Railway Engineering

Department of Transportation Engineering and Management,

UET Lahore.

Track Forces
The forces on the track are:

• Vertical
• Lateral (parallel to the ties)
• Longitudinal (parallel to the rails)

Vertical
• Repetitive downward action of wheel load
• Corresponding lift-up force on the ties away from the wheel load points.
• Nominal vertical wheel force = gross weight of the railway car divided by the
number of wheels
• The vertical impact dynamic load has two components, a short-duration
larger force and a longer duration smaller force. The first is expected to be
more harmful to the rails and ties, while the second does more damage to
the ballast and track geometry.
• The major factors affecting the magnitude of the dynamic vertical forces are:
1. Nominal wheel load
2. Train speed
3. Wheel diameter
4. Smoothness of the rail and wheel surfaces
5. Track geometry
6. Track modulus or vertical track stiffness

Lateral
• Wheel force transmitted through friction between the wheel and top of the
rail and by the wheel flange acting against the inside face of the rail head,
particularly on curves
• The design lateral wheel force depends upon a number of factors, including:
1. Vehicle speed
2. Track geometry
3. Elevation difference between the two rails at the same cross section

Longitudnal
Sources of longitudinal rail forces are:

• Speed
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• Locomotive traction
• Locomotive and car braking
• Expansion and contraction of the rails from temperature change
• Track grade
• The ratio of lateral to vertical force (L/V) is also important because it can
cause loss of alignment and even track buckling.

TRACK SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS

Track system performance is a function of the composite response of the track
components under the action of the train loads. Two response characteristics are
important to consider in track design:

• Vertical track stiffness

• Lateral track stability.

Stiffness
• The vertical track stiffness k is the vertical load on one rail divided by the
vertical deflection at the loaded point. The subgrade has the greatest
influence on the track stiffness k.
• The track modulus u is the composite vertical support stiffness of the rails
consisting of the fasteners, ties, ballast, subballast, and subgrade

Vertical Response Model

Lateral Stability
• Track buckling is a result of increasing longitudinal rail force from
increasing temperature. Buckling occurs in the lateral direction because
this is the least stable direction.
• The lateral resistance is greatest directly under the wheel loads because
the weight of the train increases the lateral restraint provided by the ties
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• Increasing resistance to buckling can be achieved by such means as

increasing the ballast shoulder width

Ballast
The second track component from the bottom. It has following sub-divisions:

Crib—material between the ties

2. Shoulder—material beyond the tie ends down to the bottom of the ballast layer

3. Top ballast—upper portion of supporting ballast layer that is disturbed by

tamping

4. Bottom ballast—lower portion of supporting ballast layer, which is not disturbed

by tamping and generally is the more fouled
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Purpose of Ballast Section

• Uniform Distribution of Traffic and track load over subgrade. Without Ballast,
sleepers would sink unevenly in subgrade
• Track is anchored against both lateral and longitudinal movement
• Immediate drainage & Reduced frost heaving. Some elasticity absorbs
heaving in subgrade.
• Maintenance operations are facilitated. Ballast is more readily tamped under
sleepers and corrections made in line & surface when the track is up and
away from the subgrade
• Resilience which absorbs some of the shock from dynamic loadings is found
in ballast. Spring like action.

What must be the characteristics of a good ballast?

1. Strength Must resist static + dynamic loads, brittle material is undesirable
2. Durability Resistance to abrasion + weathering, abrasion produces dust &
fouls the material. Weathering occurs due to freezing & thawing
3. Stability Rough, irregular particles in higher percentage to properly anchor
the track
4. Drainability Voids b/w particles must be large enough for draining off the
ground and surface water
5. Cleanability Freedom from silt, clay, vegetation. Must be able to be cleaned
easily: manually or by machines
6. Workability Easily shoveled and tamped. Size of particles permitting
flexibility in height of surfacing lifts (layers)
7. Availability Material abundant near the site is preferable than the one which
is to be hauled.
8. Cheapness Full economic cost of material. A ballast of high first cost may be
cheaper in end due to longer life, better quality & reduced maintenance
requirements.

Kinds of Ballast
See the next Page.

Testing of Ballast

Size and Gradation Tests

Use is made of A.S.T.M. test "Method of Test for Sieve Analysis for Fine and Coarse
Aggregates."

Tests for Deleterious Particles

1. Material finer than a No. 200 screen shall not exceed 1 percent in prepared
(stone, slag, washed gravel) ballasts. A.S.T.M. “Test for Material Finer Than a
No. 200 Sieve" is used. Particles decanted from the ballast-sample are
screened, and the percentages of "fines less than No. 200" are obtained by
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dividing the weight of the sample before decanting by the difference in

weights before and after decanting and sieving.

2. Soft and friable pieces must not exceed 5 percent in prepared ballasts.
Pebbles crushing under specified static loads are reported as a portion of the
original sample by weight in accordance with the "Method of Test for Quality
of Soft Pebbles in Gravel," A.A.S.H.O.

3. Clay lumps must not exceed 0.5 percent as determined by the method of
“Test for Clay Lumps in Aggregates”, A.S.T.M. With the sample spread in a
shallow container, all clay lumps are crushed between the fingers. The clay-
lump residue is then removed by screening, and the percentage of clay
lumps determined by comparing the weights of the sample before and after
screening.

Abrasion Tests
Resistance to abrasion is determined in accordance with the
current method of "Test for Abrasion of Coarse Aggregates by Use
of the Los Angeles Machine," . A 5000-gram sample is subject to
impact and abrasion in a hollow steel cylinder charged with cast-
iron balls and rotated 500 times at 30 to 33 rpm. The material is
then removed, sieved on a No. 12 screen, washed, dried and
weighed. The difference in weights before and after rotating and
screening, expressed as a percentage of initial weight, gives the
percentage of wear. This should not exceed 40 percent except when experience
and local availability may warrant acceptance up to 50 percent.

Soundness Test
Made in accordance with "Test for Soundness of Aggregates by Use of Sodium
Sulphate or Magnesium Sulphate," A.S.T.M. Quantities of sample retained on
each sieve after screening are weighed and immersed 16 to 18 hours in a
sodium sulphate solution at a constant temperature. Samples are then dried to
constant weight at a specified temperature, cooled to room temperature, and
reimmersed in a sodium sulphate solution. After the fifth cycle, the samples are
washed, dried to constant weight, and sieved over the same screens on which
originally retained. The weight of particles now passed by these screens
expressed as a percentage of the original weight retained gives the percentage
of loss.

Experience
Ballast which has in the past given a satisfactory performance may, because of its
cheapness or availability, be continued in use even though it does not meet all
specifications. The real economy of the material should, however, be determined by
noting how its use effects other costs over a long period of time.
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Selection of Ballast

Traffic Requirements
Wheel loadings, volume and speed of traffic. Ultimate carrying capacity of
ballast depends upon size of particle, smoothness of surface, and degree of
irregularity, there is an advantage in the load-carrying capacity of coarser, rougher
kinds of ballast. Crushed-stone ballast makes the best foundation for high-speed,
mainline service.

Unstable Locations
Unstable locations often require frequent additions of ballast as the roadbed and old
ballast settle. It would hardly pay to make frequent renewals with expensive, high-
grade ballast. The use of a cheaper material—cinders perhaps—is an alternative
until stability has been achieved.

Size of Particles
Large sizes—up to 3 in.—possess more resistance and crushing and are
said to hold line and surface better. This size is frequently recommended for heavily
loaded freight lines. However, the flatter edges and angles on large particles may
not grip the ties as well as the smaller sizes. Heavy materials being difficult to apply
and work are therefore costly. Large sizes do not readily permit the light l-to-2 in.
lifts desirable when surfacing track. Preferred size: ¾” to 1 ½” due to good
workability but it could have drainage problems.

Economics
The cheapest ballast is that which over a period of years gives the lowest overall
cost, including the items of first cost, frequency of renewal, track and equipment
maintenance, and costs of train operation.

Transmission of Pressures through Ballast

• By the principles of elastic deformation, one can forecast that pressures
transmitted by a loaded tie will be spread over a greater area with
diminished unit pressure as the depth of section increases.
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• Effects of adjacent tie loadings will be superimposed on each other,

leading to a relatively uniform pressure's being transmitted through the
lower depths of the ballast section and to the roadbed.

Design of Ballast Section

1. Depth of Ballast below base of Tie

• If ballast pressure is not uniformly distributed to the subgrade, some of

the ballast will be forced into the subgrade, causing inferior surface on the
track and depressions in the subgrade surface which will form pockets and
lead to instability
• Strength of supporting roadbed must be taken into account as well as the
distribution of pressure at any given depth of ballast
• A rule given by Schubert is that depth of ballast should equal a + 8 in.,
where a is the space between the edges of ties in inches.
• On curves, these depths are measured under the low or inside rail, a
greater depth being necessary under the outside rail to provide the
necessary superelevation.
• Ultimate carrying capacity of the ballast is considerably increased by
raising the level of ballast surface to the top of tie

Transmission of Pressures through Ballast

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Width of ballast section

• It is a function of the depth, tie length, shoulder width, and slope.

• Width at the top must provide space for the tie
• Outside the end of tie is a shoulder varying from 6 in. to 12 in. to give
stability against the lateral movement
• Experience with heavy traffic indicates 12 in. to be a desirable width for
gravel, 8 in. for stone

3. Slope of ballast section

Slopes of 2:1 to 2 1/2: 1 are accepted

Functions of Subballast
• Maintain separation between the ballast and subgrade particles.
• Prevent abrasion of the hard subgrade surface by the ballast.
• Reduce pressure from the ballast to values that can be sustained by the
subgrade .
• Intercept water from the ballast and direct it to the track drainage system.
• Provide drainage of water flowing upward from the subgrade.
• Provide some insulation to the subgrade to prevent freezing.
• Provide some resiliency to the track.