Comparison of coal dust fouled railroad ballast behavior - Granite vs. limestone

W. Dombrow, H. Huang, E. Tutumluer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fouling refers to the condition of railroad ballast when voids in this unbound aggregate layer are filled with fine materials or fouling agents commonly in the form of ballast aggregate breakdown, outside contamination such as coal dust from coal trains, or from subgrade soil intrusion. Effects of coal dust on shear strength of different ballast aggregates were studied through the use of a large shear box device. The strength properties of both granite and limestone ballast samples were determined when coal dust was added to clean ballast samples at various percentages by weight of ballast under both dry and wet conditions. When the coal dust fouling percentage increased, the ballast shear strength generally decreased. Wet fouling was found to exacerbate this trend. However, coal dust had more detrimental impact on granite ballast strength when compared to limestone ballast. This could be caused by limestone's higher crushing tendency and/or possibly any differences in void structures since gradation properties of the granite and limestone samples varied.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationBearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields
Pages1349-1357
Number of pages9
StatePublished - 2009
Event8th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, BCR2A'09 - Champaign, IL, United States
Duration: Jun 29 2009Jul 2 2009

Publication series

NameBearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields
Volume2

Other

Other8th International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfields, BCR2A'09
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChampaign, IL
Period6/29/097/2/09

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Civil and Structural Engineering

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