RIS ID
54263
Abstract
The recently updated information has raised a concern in not only the existing costineffective design method but also the unrealistic analysis mode of railroad prestressed concrete sleepers. Because of the deficient knowledge in the past, railway civil engineers have been mostly aware of the over conservative design methods for structural components in any railway track, which rely on allowable stresses and material strength reductions. Based on a number of proven experiments and field data, it is believed that the concrete sleepers complied with the allowable stress concept possess the unduly untapped fracture toughness. A collaborative research run by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Railway Engineering and Technologies (RailCRC) was initiated to ascertain the reserved capacity of Australian railway prestressed concrete sleepers designed using the existing design code. The findings have led to the development of a new limit states design concept. This article highlights the conventional and the new limit states design philosophies and their implication to both railway and public community.
Publication Details
Kaewunruen, S., Remennikov, A. M. & Murray, M. H. (2012). Limit states design of railway concrete sleepers. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Transport, 165 (TR2), 81-85.