Viability of using end-of-life tire pads as under sleeper pads in railway: Fid-Bau Portal

Viability of using end-of-life tire pads as under sleeper pads in railway

Sol-Sánchez, Miguel / Moreno-Navarro, Fernando / Rubio-Gámez, Mª Carmen

Highlights • Deconstructed tyres with no gridding treatment are used as sleeper pads. • The effect of thickness and material treatments was considered. • Static and dynamic performance of under sleeper tire pads was analyzed. • Fatigue resistance was evaluated. • Dissipated energy analysis was applied.

Abstract This research study focused on the design of under sleeper pads made from deconstructed end-of-life tires. The rubber was obtained without grinding up the tires. This cost-effective process has a lower environmental impact and at the same time preserves the mechanical characteristics of the material. The analysis was focused on how certain design parameters of the under sleeper pads affected their static performance (at different stress levels) and their dynamic performance (at different load frequencies). Their long-term performance and durability were also evaluated with a mechanical fatigue test. In addition, a ballast box was used to assess the impact of the pads on lateral resistance and stress distribution in a ballasted railway track system. The results of this study showed that under sleeper tire pads with different static and dynamic stiffness moduli can be obtained by varying pad thickness and by applying different physical treatments to the material. Moreover, the fatigue results revealed that these tire pads are suitable for use in railway systems. In addition, it was found that the pads distributed loads to a higher ballast area and at the same time increased the lateral resistance of the track.