Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/S14122/01
Title:	Micro Mechanics of Railway Ballast Degradation
Principal Investigator:	McDowell, Professor G
Other Investigators:	Collop, Professor AC Brown, Professor S
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Balfour Beatty Plc Foster Yeoman Ltd Network Rail Scott Wilson
Department:	Sch of Civil Engineering
Organisation:	University of Nottingham
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2003	Ends:	30 September 2006	Value (£):	399,290
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Pavement Engineering
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Construction
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The proposed work involves the application of fundamental soil mechanics principles to the problem of degradation of railway ballast. Tamping causes about 20% of all fouling in ballast, and a further 20% results from traffic and sleeper wear. Research has concentrated on the use of simple box tests and empirical crushing measurements to predict ballast pefromance. However, as yet, it appears that researchers have not measured the tensile strength of a single grain, or related this strength to degradation of ballast in odeometer tests, triaxial tests or box tests. Furthermore, it is not known if any laboratory test can satisfactorily simulate the tamping process. This project will take a fundamental scientific approach to study the micro mechanical behaviour of ballast under loading. The initial part of the project will involve laboratory testing of the tensile strength of single ballast grains and the design of a laboratory railway testing facility which may be used to simulate tamping in addition to traffic loading. Tamping simulations will be performed and related to single grain tests, oedometer tests and high pressure triaxial tests in order to understand the degradation process. A large triaxial cell will also be used to simulate traffic loading and the results related to the tamping, oedometer and single grain tests. The aims are to provide an understanding of the ballast degradation process in order to predict and prolong ballast life, thereby reducing maintenance costs, and to develop constitutive models for use in the analysis of rail track under loading.
Key Findings
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Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.nottingham.ac.uk