Recycled Glass Blends with Recycled Concrete Aggregates in Sustainable Railway Geotechnics

Abstract

This research investigates the static and cyclic characteristics of recycled glass (RG) as a supplementary material with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in the rail track capping layer. RG was blended by-weight with RCA in 10% increments up to 50% RG content. A performance-based laboratory testing scheme was designed according to the field loading conditions of capping layers in rail tracks. Basic geotechnical properties of RG + RCA blends were evaluated through their particle size distribution, compaction properties, and California bearing ratio. Effect of flooding was assessed with one-dimensional static and cyclic compression tests. Multistage triaxial compression tests were performed to determine the effect of RG content on shear strength parameters. A new repeated loading triaxial testing protocol was introduced for railway capping layer materials to assess the stiffness of RG blends to cyclic loading. Long term performance of samples also was evaluated through multistage cyclic permanent deformation tests. The shakedown concept was used to assess the permanent deformation results of RG + RCA samples. Results indicated that RG can be used effectively as a supplementary geomaterial in construction of rail track substructure.

Effect of Sustained Loading on the Direct Shear Behaviour of Recycled C&D Material–Geosynthetic Interfaces

“…Construction and demolition (C&D) was recognised as one of the priority sectors in this Circular Economy Package due to the vast amounts of C&D wastes generated across the European Union (over 35% of total waste generation), as well as their high potential for circularity. In fact, there has been increasing evidence that C&D materials can successfully be recycled and reused in a variety of civil engineering applications, such as concrete production [ 1 , 2 ], road and railway infrastructure [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ], ground improvement works [ 7 ], geosynthetic-reinforced structures [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], among others. Taking into account that the construction sector is among the main contributors to the natural resource consumption (accounting for ≈50% of all extracted materials), the incorporation of recycled materials in the construction industry could save massive amounts of natural resources and play a notable role in achieving climate neutrality.…”

Experimental and Numerical Verification of the Railway Track Substructure with Innovative Thermal Insulation Materials

“…Ensuring reliable and safe tracks for railways (especially for high-speed railways) requires components of the railway superstructure and substructure with sufficiently high resistance to deformation [ 3 ], which can be caused by traffic load (static and dynamic load [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]) and non-traffic load (climate load—water, frost, snow, etc. [ 7 ]).…”

Study on the Effect of Recycled Coarse Aggregate on the Shrinkage Performance of Green Recycled Concrete

“…Many studies have proved that construction waste can be used as raw materials for preparing recycled coarse aggregate (RCA), which can replace natural coarse aggregate (NCA) [8][9][10]. It is worth noting that the performance of green recycled concrete prepared by RCA is usually far inferior to that of natural aggregate concrete (NAC) [11][12][13]. Some researchers have investigated the influencing factors and the micro mechanism of recycling concrete performance to make effective use of recycled materials.…”