Enhanced ductility and energy absorption of coal wash-rubber crumb mixtures for track substructure

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Publication Title
Enhanced ductility and energy absorption of coal wash-rubber crumb mixtures for track substructure

Abstract
Particularly within developed countries, landfill and stockpile volumes of industrial waste materials are reaching alarming levels. Two examples of these wastes are coal wash (CW), a by-product of the coal washing process; and scrap rubber tyres, which can be shredded to produce granulated rubber crumbs (RC). Moreover, high-quality natural aggregates are growing in scarcity, leading to increased procurement difficulties and associated costs. Consequently, reusing CW and RC in large-scale civil engineering applications is both a financially and environmentally attractive alternative to traditional granular materials. This study evaluates the ductility and strain energy density of CW-RC mixtures, at varying RC contents and compacted at the same void ratio, under static triaxial shearing. Expectedly, including rubber enhances the ductility and energy absorption of these waste mixtures. Improving these characteristics makes CW-RC mixtures a promising energy-absorbing alternative to traditional track substructure design as rail loads are expected to increase in the future. Additionally, this study proposes an empirical model for strain energy density as a function of RC content and shear strength.
Authors
H. Hunt; B. Indraratna; Y. Qi

Published In

18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)

Theme

D - Current and new construction methods

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