Evaluating Ballast Performance with Freeze/Thaw Cycles

In seasonally cold regions, railroad tracks are subjected to ice formation under sub-freezing conditions and ice thawing under above-freezing conditions due to significant seasonal temperature fluctuations, posing challenges for the maintenance of ballasted railway tracks and operation safety. Currently, little attention has been given to the impact of ice formation and thawing on the permanent deformation of railroad ballast and incidents due to track stiffness variation have not been reported. This proposed research project will investigate the effect of ice formation and thawing on the permanent deformation of ballast through large-scale triaxial cyclic testing, utilizing a newly developed freezing system to simulate frozen conditions. The results will demonstrate the potential track support variation when ballast is subject to freeze-thaw cycles, under the same loading cycles. The rate of permanent deformation will be related to track settlement and help predict track geometry degradation and optimize track maintenance for enhanced track safety.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.utrgv.edu/railwaysafety/research/infrastructure/index.htm

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $103,181.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348340

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  University of South Carolina, Columbia

  502 Byrnes Building
  Columbia, SC  United States  29208
• Managing Organizations:

  University of South Carolina, Columbia

  502 Byrnes Building
  Columbia, SC  United States  29208
• Project Managers:

  Stearns, Amy

• Performing Organizations:

  University of South Carolina, Columbia

  502 Byrnes Building
  Columbia, SC  United States  29208
• Principal Investigators:

  Qian, Yu

  Rizos, Dimitris

• Start Date: 20250601
• Expected Completion Date: 20260831
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Deformation; Freeze thaw durability; Icing; Railroad safety; Railroad tracks; Track ballast
• Subject Areas: Maintenance and Preservation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01960681
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: University Transportation Center for Railway Safety
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348340
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 14 2025 8:12PM