• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.583-598
• /
• 2022

The Compaction effect is important for evaluating the subgrade construction. However, there is little research exploring the compaction quality of deep soil using hydraulic compaction. According to reinforcement effect analysis, dimensional analysis is adopted in this work to analyze subgrade compactness within the effective reinforcement depth, and a prediction model is obtained. A hydraulic compactor is then employed to carry out an in-situ reinforcement test on gravel soil subgrade, and the subgrade parameters before and after reinforcement are analyzed. Results show that a reinforcement difference exists inside the subgrade, and the effective reinforcement depth is defined as increasing compactness to 90% in the depth direction. Layered compactness within the effective reinforcement depth is expressed by parameters including the drop distance of the rammer, peak acceleration, tamping times, subgrade settlement, and properties of rammer and filler. Finally, a field test is conducted to verify the results.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.84-90
• /
• 2009

The gravel ballast in the ballasted track has the function to not only transfer/scatter the train loads to subgrade through rail and sleeper but also elastically support the train loads. Because track irregularities results inevitably from the repetitive train loads, the track maintenance should be undertaken for correcting them. By analyzing the track maintenance history in the Gyeongbu high speed railway, this study tries to choose the local two spots in the railway in which the repair frequencies are maximum and relative small; to analyze their dynamic characteristics as well as grade; and to compare them with maintenance history. As the dynamic characteristics of track, the vertical displacement and vibrating acceleration of sleeper as well as acceleration of ballast are measured/analyzed. Furthermore, by collecting soil and gravel on the reinforced roadbed and undertaking ballast screening test, the size distributions are compared with grade distribution standards of high speed railway.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.237-251
• /
• 2006

Piezoelectric sensors have many applications in geotechnical engineering, especially in characterizing soils through measurement of wave velocities. Since mechanical properties of a material are closely associated with wave velocities, piezoelectric sensors provide a reliable and non-destructive method for the determination of soil properties. This paper presents results of recent research on measuring stiffness of a wide range of soils such as clay, sand, and gravel, characterizing anisotropic properties of soil induced by external loading, measuring stiffness of base and subgrade materials in the pavement, determining soil properties in a centrifuge model during the flight of a centrifuge, and understanding wave propagation in granular materials under micro-gravity environment using this technique.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.1085-1101
• /
• 2015

Changes in substructure conditions, such as ballast fouling and subgrade settlement may cause the railway quality deterioration, including the differential geometry of the rails. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a hybrid cone penetrometer (HCP) to characterize the railway substructure. The HCP consists of an outer rod and an inner mini cone, which can dynamically and statically penetrate the ballast and the subgrade, respectively. An accelerometer and four strain gauges are installed at the head of the outer rod and four strain gauges are attached at the tip of the inner mini cone. In the ballast, the outer rod provides a dynamic cone penetration index (DCPI) and the corrected DCPI (CDCPI) with the energy transferred into the rod head. Then, the inner mini cone is pushed to estimate the strength of the subgrade from the cone tip resistance. Laboratory application tests are performed on the specimen, which is prepared with gravel and sandy soil. In addition, the HCP is applied in the field and compared with the standard dynamic cone penetration test. The results from the laboratory and the field tests show that the cone tip resistance is inversely proportional to the CDCPI. Furthermore, in the subgrade, the HCP produces a high-resolution profile of the cone tip resistance and a profile of the CDCPI in the ballast. This study suggests that the dynamic and static penetration tests using the HCP may be useful for characterizing the railway substructure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.27-44
• /
• 2022

Gravelly soil is a kind of special geotechnical material, which is widely used in the subgrade engineering of railway, highway and airport. Its mechanical properties are very complex, and will greatly influence the stability of subgrade engineering. To investigate the mechanical properties and failure mechanism of gravelly soils, this paper introduced and verified a new discrete element method (DEM) of gravelly soils in large scale direct shear test, which considers the actual shape and broken characteristics of gravels. Then, the stress and strain characteristics, particle interaction, particle contact force, crack development and energy conversion in gravelly soils during the shear process were analyzed using this method. Moreover, the effects of gravel content (GC) on the mechanical properties and failure characteristics were discussed. The results reveal that as GC increases, the shear stress becomes more fluctuating, the peak shear stress increases, the volumetric strain tends to dilate, the average particle contact force increases, the cumulative number of cracks increases, and the shear failure plane becomes coarser. Higher GC will change the friction angle with a trend of "stability", "increase", and "stability". Differently, it affects the cohesion with a law of "increase", "stability" and "increase".