Geosynthetic applications in high-speed railways: a case study

Abstract

A high-speed railway project for trains with speeds of 160–180 km/h was recently completed in Malaysia. An array of geosynthetics such as biaxial geogrids, non-woven geotextiles and woven geotextiles were extensively used in the project primarily for separation, filtration and reinforcement purposes. The geosynthetics were particularly used at locations of high embankments underlain by soft clays and loose sands. Ground improvement using geosynthetics in the project primarily included geogrid-reinforced piled embankments with individual pile caps, geogrids at bridge approach transitions, geogrids for ground treatment beneath culverts, geogrids for culverts supported by stone columns, woven geotextiles for cement column works, non-woven geotextiles for excavation works, non-woven geotextiles at the top of the railway subgrade layer, non-woven geotextiles for temporary retaining walls and non-woven geotextiles for slope protection works. This paper provides a detailed insight into the design and implementation of ground improvement using geogrids and geotextiles in this case study project, with a focus on the geogrid reinforcement design of piled embankments with individual pile caps. The use of geosynthetics in the various railway applications in the project was found to provide safe and cost-effective solutions to the various geotechnical engineering challenges encountered.

The role of geosynthetics in reducing the fluidisation potential of soft subgrade under cyclic loading

“…The geosynthetics can be applied to highway embankments and railway tracks to improve strength, stiffness and load bearing capacity of weak subgrade soils (Arulrajah et al 2015;Rajagopal 2017;Rajagopal et al 2014). While certain geosynthetics can mitigate the migration of fines in typical rigid pavements and track foundations (Kermani et al 2020), several studies and field investigations confirm that surface drainage via geotextiles can help to prevent subgrade erosion, limit excessive deformation and mud pumping under heavy haul loading (Aw 2007;Kermani et al 2018;Selig & Waters 1994).…”

Improved performance of geosynthetics enhanced ballast: laboratory and numerical studies

“…Geosynthetics have successfully been used for a variety of geotechnical engineering purposes including the reinforcement of retaining walls, embankments and slopes, leachate drainage, stiffener for sandy subgrade to increase vehicle mobility and to assist in the construction of roads (Arulrajah et al, 2015;Brown et al, 2007;Ferreira et al, 2015Ferreira et al, , 2016aHalvordson et al, 2010;Hosseinpour et al, 2016;McDowell et al, 2006;Ngo et al, 2017b;Sitharam and Sireesh, 2004;Voottipruex et al, 2010;Warren et al, 2010, among others). Geosynthetics have been applied in new rail tracks and track rehabilitation for approximately three decades, but they have not been widely accepted as a common component to be consistently added throughout the railway structure (Arulrajah et al, 2009;Indraratna et al, 2013;Ngo et al, 2016a).…”

A dynamic gradient ratio test apparatus

“…The ability of geotextiles to enhance the performance of pavements and railroad tracks in terms of reducing permanent surface deformation has been studied by many researchers (e.g. Indraratna and Nimbalkar, 2013, Arulrajah et al, 2015, Chen et al, 2017. However, very little literature is available about the dynamic filtration performance of geotextiles in highways and railways.…”