Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

African Railway Center of Excellence

MSc in Railway Engineering (Civil Infrastructure)
Master’s Thesis Proposal
On

INVESTIGATION OF PERFORMANCE OF PRESTRESSED

CONCRETE SLEEPERS UNDER STATIC AND DYNAMIC
LOADING ON ELASTIC SUPPORT

MUJAWIMANA Violette

ID Number: GSR/5163/12

Supervisor: Dr. Abraham Gebre

Date Submitted: 5/03/2020

 DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, declare that this research proposal is my original work, has not been presented for a
degree in this or other universities, all sources of materials used for this proposal work have been fully
acknowledged.

Signed: ……………………………………… Date:…………………………

MUJAWIMANA Violette

Violettemujawimana @gmail.com

i
 APPROVAL

The undersigned have examined the thesis proposal entitled ‘Investigation of performance of prestressed
concrete sleepers under static loading on elastic support presented by MUJAWIMANA Violette of
registration number GSR/5163/12, a candidate for the degree of Master of Science in Railway Engineering
(Civil Infrastructure) and hereby certify that it is worth of acceptance.

Dr. Abrham Gebre …………………… ………………….

Supervisor Signature Date

ii
 Abstract

Railway pre-stressed concrete sleepers are an integral part of the railway track as they hold and move the
wheel loads from the rails to the track foundation.A track is subjected to various types of static and
dynamic load conditions after a certain time, which can lead to some reduction in the effective behavior
of sleepers. Consequently, in order to preserve efficiency and to prevent the degradation of the railway
system, it is important to consider various conditions of support during the construction of the track. The
occurrence of unsupported sleepers is prevalent on many traditional ballasted heavy-duty rail line and
their negative effects on track performance are likely to be from freight train loads, and speeds increase.
With repeated axle loads on railway track, unsupported sleepers will cause a rapid track degradation. The
objective of this research is to investigate the load-carrying capacity of the prestressed concrete sleepers
under static and dynamic loading conditions considering elastic support. Based on Numerical analysis,
some material properties of each component such as density, Young’s Modulus, Poisson ratio will be used
in model where the model will consider prestressed concrete sleeper with 6 conditions that are elastically
full and partial supported and ABAQUS will be used as numerical model. The results from this study will
improve the understanding impact of static and dynamic on performance of sleepers and effect of
supported and unsupported sleepers on ride comfort and safety.

Key Words: prestressed concrete sleepers, static and dynamic loading, elastic full support and partial
support , Abaqus

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 Table of content

DECLARATION................................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL ......................................................................................................................... ii
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ iii
Table of content ................................................................................................................... iv
Accronymes ......................................................................................................................... vi
List of figures ...................................................................................................................... vii
List Of Tables .................................................................................................................... viii
1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1
Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem statement..................................................................................................... 2
1.2.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 2
1.3 Objectives ................................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Significant ................................................................................................................. 3
1.5 Scope ......................................................................................................................... 3
2. Literature review ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Railway Track ........................................................................................................... 4
2.1.1 Railway track structure components ...................................................................... 4
Railway track superstructure components ..................................................................... 5
Railway track substructure components ......................................................................... 5
2.1.2 Railway track forces .............................................................................................. 6
2.1.2.1 Static forces on track........................................................................................... 6
Vertical forces ................................................................................................................. 6
2.1.2.2 Dynamic Forces on track .................................................................................... 6
2.2 Sleepers ........................................................................................................................... 7
2.2.1 Prestressed concrete sleepers ................................................................................. 7
2.3 Design of prestressed concrete sleepers ....................................................................... 9
2.3.1Concrete .................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 Failure modes of prestressed concrete sleepers....................................................... 10
2.4.1 Rail-seat deterioration (RSD) .............................................................................. 10

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 2.4.2Longitudinal cracking ........................................................................................... 11
2.5 Static behaviour of Prestressed concrete Sleepers .................................................... 11
2.5.1 General Static Analysis ........................................................................................ 11
2.5 Dynamic behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers .............................................. 12
Beam On Continuous Elastic Support .......................................................................... 13
3. Methodology ................................................................................................................... 15
3.1 Review related literatures and data collection ........................................................ 15
3.2 Numerical Model .................................................................................................... 15
3.3 Research expected outcomes ................................................................................ 16
4.1 Thesis Schedule ...................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Budget ..................................................................................................................... 18
References ........................................................................................................................... 19

v
Accronymes

AALRT Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit

ARCE African Railway Center OF Excellent

IUCEA Inter University Council for East Africa

AREMA American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association

UIC International Union Railways

vi
List of figures

Figure 1 Cross section of a railway track[4] ............................................................................................. 4

Figure 2 Typical wheel load distribution into the track structure ................................................................ 7
Figure 3Stages of pre-tensioning[19]........................................................................................................... 8

Figure 4 Schematics of a static test: (a) at the rail seat section and (b) at the center section[24] ............. 11
Figure 5 Beam (bending stiffness EI) on elastic foundation (bed modulus k) .......................................... 13

Figure 6 Beam on discrete elastic support [23] ......................................................................................... 14

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List Of Tables

Table 1 Experimental moment capacities of PCSs[27] ............................................................................. 12

Table 2 Modelling material properties ....................................................................................................... 16

viii
1. Introduction

Background

Transportation systems play a significant role in each country's economic and social development. The
rail system is one of the most effective transport networks that is ideal for long and short distances[1]

Railway track consists of elements of the substructure and superstructure. The sub-structure consists
of various layers, such as ballast, subballast and subgrade, and the upper portion is the superstructure
that includes sleepers, rail pads, fasteners and rails. Sleepers are components of the railway track that
rest transversely on the ballast layer and provide stability and retain the gauge where the stresses are
transferred to granular materials.[1]. According to A. Parvez and S. J. Foster sleepers have been used
in the railway sector for over 50 years and they can be manufactured using timber, concrete, steel, or
other engineering materials . According to Ruilin you , et al. concrete is commonly used around the
world and it is required to check the validity for sleepers in order to maintain the good performance
of railway geometry .[2]

In research made by Y. Panga, et al repeating wheel loads may cause the bad performance of the ballast
material, which would affect the support conditions beneath the sleepers. Therefore, understanding the
influence of different support conditions on the degradation of sleepers is necessary for maintaining
safe railroad operations[3].Another problem arising from the subsiding of the ballast is that a gap forms
between the sleeper and the ballast, namely, the sleepers over the settlement ballast is suspended or
partly suspended. It was often found that the sleepers hang from the rails at railway sites.The
unsupported sleeper is often referred to as " the hanging sleeper'[6]

Therefore, the support condition of railway sleepers has a major impact on the mechanical efficiency
and actions of sleepers and railway tracks and one of the important issues in this regard relates to
current unsupported sleepers on railway tracks.[4] The finite element analysis in this research will
present the investigation aimed at understanding the performance of prestressed concrete sleepers
under static and dynamic loading considering different support conditions by using ABAQUS as
numerical model.

1
1.2 Problem statement

Due to extensive increases in axle loads, speed and traffic volumes in rail transport systems, this is
needed to provide a more detailed understanding of the behavior of the track system and its
components. Concrete sleepers play an important role on the railway track since they are designed to
receive and transfer from the wheel loads to the granular material.[5]
Vertical static and dynamic forces have been the main subject of study, since they are the main cause
of poor railway track efficiency due to varying train speeds and static axle loads [6].
A limited number of researchers considered the support conditions and it was that inadequate sleeper
support conditions were found to be a critical factor leading to the reduction of comfort and accidents.
Also, the ballasts as the support of the sleeper can not provide adequate support in the field conditions
due to numerous load conditions and may provide ineffective support for the sleeper, so it is important
to anticipate bending moments along the sleepers. Therefore, in this research I would like to investigate
the performance of prestressed concrete sleepers under static loading with different support conditions

1.2.1 Research Questions

The research presented in this thesis proposal will explore the following questions

How PCS sleepers will react under Static and dyanamic loading with the following support
conditions?

1. When sleeper is full supported support?

2. when sleeper is only supported at the ends under the rails
3. when sleeper is full supported at the end under the rails and half supported at the center
4. when sleeper is half supported at the end under the rails and full supported at the center
5. when sleeper is only full supported at the center
6. when the sleeper is hanging at the ends under the rails and partially supported at the center

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1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main objective

The main objective of this study is to numerically investigate the performance of prestressed concrete
sleepers under static and dynamic loading on elastic support

1.3.2 Specific objectives

 To review the design of monoblock prestressed concrete sleepers

 To analyse the effect of support conditions on prestressed concrete sleepers
 Static and dynamic modeling of sleeper with different support conditions

1.4 Significant

This project will help to better understand the response of on the performance prestressed concrete
sleepers under static loading on elastic support where full and partial supported monoblock concrete
sleepers will be modelled and ABAQUS software
The results from this study will improve the understanding of the performance of Pcs sleepers under
different support conditions and this will be used for:

 Future prestressed concrete sleepers design and improvement of material

 Scientific information for policies makers
 Enough information about the performance of PCs sleepers under different support conditions
which will help for maintenance planning for the company

1.5 Scope

This project will cover Investigation of Performance of Prestressed Concrete Sleepers under Static
and dynamic Loading on different support conditions .

Numerical static simulation was developed for better understanding of the static and dyanamic
behaviour of Monoblock Prestressed concrete sleepers. For track loading , I will consider only the
vertical wheel load. The track components like rail pads, sub ballast and subgrade their effect will
not be considered and experimental work will not conducted in this research only numerical analysis
was conducted.

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 2. Literature review
2.1 Railway Track

2.1.1 Railway track structure components

In compliance with M. A. Sayeed and M. A. Shahin transportation industry has a major drive for every
country around the world to expand both the economy and society. It is generally understood that the
railway system now offers the easiest and safest option for either passenger or freight transportation.[1]

Recent increases in passenger and freight traffic have resulted in more extensive use of many railway
routes than ever before, with a consequent need for more regular maintenance of tracks. The bulk of
the railways in the world are on ballast lines. The existing asset volume is such that the dominance of
ballast track is unlikely to change, while new railways may be constructed using slab track.[2]

The track is subdivided into two major groups: superstructure and substructure. A category known as
the superstructure is composed of visible track components such as rails, rail pads, concrete sleepers,
fastening systems, under sleeper pads, and ballast. The substructure is associated with a sub-ballast,
ballast mat and sub-grade geotechnical framework..[3]

Figure 1 Cross section of a railway track[4]

4
Railway track superstructure components

Rails: Rails are the longitudinal steel members that directly guide the train wheels evenly and
continuously. They must have sufficient stiffness to serve as beams that transfer the concentrated wheel
loads to the spaced sleeper supports without excessive deflection between supports rail

The rail fastening is the system used to fix the rails to the sleepers, It is used to prevent the rails
from rotating, and to provide elasticity to the track and damps the transmission of noise and vibrations
to the infrastructure when trains pass. In general, sleepers through one support the rails or more plates
called rail pads. These can be composed of different materials, namely, plastic, rubber or metal. Under
in-service conditions, the loading amplitude and frequency of the rail pads depends on the speed and
axle-load of the train running on the track[5]

Sleepers: Railway sleepers are the main structural elements of railway track. As well as pressure
distribution and load transfer to the underlying layers, railway sleepers are in duty to maintain track
gauge, grantee lateral stability of the track and contribute in better geometrical conditions of the
track. Vertical, lateral and axial forces are applied to rail sleepers [6]

Railway track substructure components

Ballast : ballast bed plays a significant role to provide resistances during train operation, provide a
hard and level bed for sleepers hold sleepers in place during passage of trains ,transfers and distributes
load from sleepers to larger area , provides effective drainage and Prevent vegetation growth and
Provide track stability[7]

Subballast: sub ballast is layer, which serves between ballast layer and subgrade layer and
composed of much finer particles than the upper ballast. It works as a filter which on the one hand
prevented the mutual penetration between ballast and soft soil subgrade [8]

Generally thickness of the gravel sub-ballast layer is 15 cm. Ballast layer are not normally used in
some railways project and they simply use a greater thickness of the formation layer, which is placed
on top of the subgrade.[8]

Subgrade: The subgrade is an integral component of the track structure, its performance properties
must be considered in order to effectively assess its influence on subsequent track quality, and the
subgrade must be able to support loads transmitted from the pavement structure. This load bearing

5
capacity is often affected by degree of compaction, moisture content, and soil type. A subgrade that
can support a high amount of loading without excessive deformation is considered good.

2.1.2 Railway track forces

The track system forces are usually divided into three groups depending on their existence, which are
static forces (usually induced by vehicle body mass) Quasi-static loads (or dynamic ride loads)
associated with vehicle motions and dynamic (dynamic wheel/rail) forces associated with significant
irregularities that may occur during the life of the track system.

2.1.2.1 Static forces on track

Vertical forces

Vertical forces consisting of dead loads, dynamic augment of loads including the effect of speed, the
hammer blow effect, the inertia of reciprocating masses and those forces that are perpendicular to the
plane of the rails and as such, the actual direction is a function of track cross- level and grade and there
is vertical wheel and uplift force

Lateral force
The forces in lateral direction act on the track structure, parallel to the long axis of the
sleepers, usually comes from the lateral wheel force due to the friction between the rail and
wheel especially when a train goes around corners. It also comes from the buckling reaction
force of the rail, which is usually caused, by a high longitudinal force in the rail

Longitudinal forces
The forces in longitudinal direction act on the track structure, parallel to the rails. It is usually
due to acceleration and braking of trains and thermal expansion or contraction of the rails

2.1.2.2 Dynamic Forces on track

In general, dynamic forces are formed because of the following reasons for track irregularities
(horizontal and vertical) - low frequency dynamics Cross level, curvature, lateral alignment, vertical
alignment, gauge, irregular track stiffness due to variable characteristics and settlement

6
, discontinuities at welds, joints, switches, wheel flats and rail surface roughness – high frequency
dynamics Vehicle defects and instability such as hunting

Figure 2 Typical wheel load distribution into the track structure

2.2 Sleepers
Railway sleepers are a significant part of the layout of railway tracks. Its function is to distribute loads
to the underlying ballast bed from the rail foot and to maintain the gauge. They are classified as wooden
(wood) sleepers, steel sleepers, cast iron sleepers, R.C.C sleepers and pre-stressed concrete sleepers
depending on the type of materials used for sleeper construction.

2.2.1 Prestressed concrete sleepers

In particularr, since last 50 years, railway pre-stressed concrete sleepers have been used in the railway
industry[9]. Prestressed concrete are sleepers that resist flexure by using concrete and prestressing
tendons and are important for the structural integrity of railway track structures, transferring wheel
loads from the rails to the underlying ballast bed, while securing rail gauges for safe train traffic[10]

Prestressed concrete sleepers have an improved structural capacity and/or serviceability as compared
to conventional reinforced concrete. Given their importance, it is crucial to ensure that concrete
sleepers are always in excellent condition before and during operation [10]and they are expected to
have longer life cycle, lower maintenance cost compare to other concrete sleepers, and as other

7
structures, they are expected to withstand high dynamic loads and harsh environments. Due to their
durability and long-term performance they are largely dependent on creep and shrinkage responses[11]

Figure 3Stages of pre-tensioning[19]

Prestressed Monoblock sleepers

Mono-block concrete sleepers are also generally manufactured by the ‘long line method’.
In this method, at a time, 30–40 moulds for casting concrete sleepers are kept in about 100–120-m-
long casting beds. High tensile steel wires with diameters of 5 mm are anchored at the end block
between the tension towers and moulds, and stretched by a specially designed tensioning method.
The tensile stress in the wires should not exceed 70% of the specified minimum UTS (ultimate
tensile stress)

Two-block sleepers
Bi-block sleepers consist of two concrete rail supports joined by steel
(Blocks joined by transverse steel T bar) Reinforced, but not prestressed .They design flexes and
behaves somewhat like wood ties Simpler, Lighter, easier to handle and less costly than prestressed
monoblock ties Higher lateral resistance, eliminate damage from torsional forces on the
sleeper centre due the more flexible steel connections Bi-block sleepers are also used in ballastless
track systems[13]

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2.3 Design of prestressed concrete sleepers
2.3.1Concrete

Actually, concrete was manufactured with just three ingredients: cement, aggregate, and water; the
cement was usually Portland cement, as stated in. Soon, very small amounts of chemical products
were applied to the mix to enhance some of the properties of concrete, either in the fresh or hardened
condition[14]. In compression, concrete is solid, but in stress it is weak. Concrete is more elastomeric
than plastic. Regardless of the concrete's thickness, the ultimate strain for most structural concretes is
approximately 0.0035[15].
The elastic deformations of concrete largely depend on its composition (especially the aggregates).
The modulus of elasticity of a concrete is controlled by the moduli of elasticity of its components.
Approximate values for the modulus of elasticity Ecm , secant value between σc = 0 and O.4fcm, for
concretes with quartzite aggregates, For limestone and sandstone aggregates the value should be
reduced by 10% and 30% respectively. For basalt aggregates, the value should be increased by 20%.
The value of the design compressive strength is given by

where: ɤc is the partial safety factor for concrete, , and σcc is the coefficient taking account of long
term effects on the compressive strength and of unfavourable effects resulting from the way the load
is applied.
Where the tensile strength is determined as the splitting tensile strength, fct,sp, an approximate value
of the axial tensile strength, fct, may be taken as

For better quality, Prestressed concrete should not be too heavy or too thin, for their ease of handling,
they should have moderate weight. The specification should be such that it is possible to easily
change and maintain the gauge, track alignment and rail levels.

The sleeper bearing area below the rail seat and above the ballast should be adequate to avoid
crushing due to rail seat crushing and ballast crushing below the sleeper. The configuration of the
concrete sleepers should be such that, during packing procedures, they are not harmed.

9
According to Shan[12] , the use of prestressed 60MPa concrete, the sleepers can be able to tolerate a
wide variety of loading conditions .Furthermore, minor cracks that may occur due to unintentional
damage close immediately, preventing the reinforced steel from rotting and any damage to the
sleepers' reputation.

2.4 Failure modes of prestressed concrete sleepers

Critical performance criteria such as static capacity, dynamic strength and ultimate impact loading
capacity should be evaluated as each property are mutually important and interconnected. Although
the quasistatic capacity is often adopted in design process, the failure modes of the structural
component must be known[9]

According to Remennikov the impact activity of in-situ railway concrete sleepers was not well
reflected by the static testing technique. For static experiments, railway concrete sleepers appear to
fail to bend or shear . In comparison, due to the splitting mode, the impact resistance of the railway
concrete sleepers is most likely due to the splitting mode because of the shortage of bonding under
complex conditions between pre-stressing wires and concrete.[16]
Based on the research made by Jabbar-Ali , through manufacturing and maintenance, most defects
occur after the operation stage. Among the statistical society surveyed, 1.2% of sleepers generated
had de-fects, 0.3% of which are used in secondary lines and the remaining 0.9% are discarded[6]
Rail-seat deterioration and longitudinal cracking are the two key modes of concrete sleeper failure. A
concrete sleeper's longitudinal cracking can be managed by introducing a special expansive concrete
around the bolt-hole area while it can be put in transverse reinforcing bars, particularly around the
bolt hole, to reinforce it transversely[17].

2.4.1 Rail-seat deterioration (RSD)

RSD refers to the deterioration of the concrete material at the interface between the rail seat and the
rail pad and can lead to problems such as loss of cant, gauge-widening, wear of the fastening system,
and other defects in track geometry that create the potential for unstable rail conditions[18]
Based on experiment made by Ryan G Kernes, et.al[18] LSAT verified that abrasion is a feasible
mechanism of RSD. Based on the results of the experiments, the frictional characteristics of the touch
interface between the rail pad and the concrete rail seat tend to have an effect on the movement of
forces and relative motion and thus on the process of abrasion.

10
The research from Office of Research[19], Development and Technology Washington, DC 20590,
Results of the rail uplift test indicated that with increasing uniform RSD, both the gage and field side
fastener toe loads were reduced. The key contributor to decreased rail longitudinal restraint is this
reduction in toe load across the rail bench. With increasing uniform RSD, trials showed substantially
less longitudinal rail restraint. Since the gage side, clip toe load is less affected in triangular RSD
situations; longitudinal rail restriction has been less affected by increasing triangular RSD magnitudes

According to Russel Lutch ,et al.[20] ,the abrasion of the rail seat happens more often on curved
track sections as well. It occurs as a result of uneven loading between the inner and outer rails, as
well as additional lateral forces produced as the train navigates a curve, but it is not the primary cause
of abrasion. . The study have shown that hydraulic pressures inside the air voids of the cement paste
have been discovered to be the cause of oxidation, resulting in a microscopic explosion.
It was shown in this study that railroads and manufacturers have worked to secure the concrete in the
rail seat using abrasion resistant materials and repair procedures to prolong the life of the tie.

2.4.2Longitudinal cracking

Concrete cracks are omitted as a prescribed serviceability of the sleepers of pre-stressed concrete[25]

Longitudinal cracking occurred along the sleeper due to longitudinal axle and at a distance between
roll-plaques, causing the sleeper muscle component to be ungreased, incorrect screw driving machine
output, and incorrect concrete vibration within the shape, human faults such as incorrect roll-plaque
placement, incorrect mixing of concrete constituent material[6]
According to Jesús Donaire-Ávil, et al.[21] in their work, it was shown that the possible
longitudinal cracking connecting dowels, found in some real railway pre-stressed precast sleepers
even before being built, and temperature was considered as the key study factor. The findings show
that some apparently not significant changes in the sleeper design and tightening system, particularly
with regard to the dowels, can be critical and cause stresses that can be responsible for longitudinal
cracking.

11
2.5 Static behaviour of Prestressed concrete Sleepers

2.5.1 General Static Analysis

The overall static analysis can involve both linear and nonlinear effects and is conducted due
to a static load, such as deflection, to determine static behavior. A condition for the analysis
to be feasible is that it is stable. A static phase uses time intervals as a fraction of the load
applied, not as dynamic measures..[23]

Moochul Shin(2016) used the schematics of the test setup (a bending test).For the static test
at the railseat section , a positive bending moment was applied at the railseat section through
a 2500 kN hydraulic actuator until it failed. The railseat area is located between 344.5 mm
and 543.5 mm from one edge of a slee- per. For the static test at the center section, a negative
bending moment was applied to a sleeper In order to apply a positive bending cracks

Figure 4 Schematics of a static test: (a) at the rail seat section and (b) at the center
section[24]

In Moochul research, all the experimental results demonstrated static analysis is not enough
therefore, dynamic, fatigue bending moment resistance as well as bond strength dynamic
modelling should also be presented where stress waves and time-dependent parameters will
be include for better structural performance of prestressed concrete sleepers.

11
2.5 Dynamic behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers

For the establishment of a realistic dynamic railway track model capable of predicting its
dynamic response, the vibration features and dynamic interaction of concrete sleepers and the
ballast support system are very relevant.[24]
In research made by A. Remennikov where four types of pre- stressed concrete sleepers
manufactured in Australia were tested using an impact hammer excitation technique over the
frequency range of interest: from 0 to 1600 Hz the results have shown that the resonant
frequencies and damping ratios associated with the lower mode of vibration of prestressed
concrete sleepers

Based on the research of Minh Vu, et al. the outcomes of the finite-element analysis showed
that due to the variance of the dynamic loading condition by 20-30 percent. The dynamic load
action could be at or higher than the permissible sleeper/ballast contact pressure and it was
highly likely that the variation could affect the supporting ballast and result in concrete
bearers' premature flexural failure mode.[25]
According Sakdira,et al. it was noted that the impact load can be caused by Wheel/rail
irregularities that greatly exceed the static wheel load, . In his research, higher than 1000kN
impact load was added to the device in order to study the efficiency of USP not only under
serviceability but also extreme condition. The results showed that the sleeper vibration with
USPs could be intensified by the strong impact force of amplitude, which can be induced
especially when a high-speed train moves over short-pitch rail defects, rail joints, coupled
defects or crossings are excited.[26]

Table 1 Experimental moment capacities of PCSs[27]

12
2.6 Mathematical model

Beam elements

Beam elements have been used for the rails and sleepers modelling. A beam element is an
element in which assumption are made so that the problems reduced to one dimension
mathematically. The primary solution variable is then functions of the length direction of the
beam. For this solution to be valid, the length of the element must be large compared to its
cross-section. [23]

Beam On Continuous Elastic Support

The mathematical modeling is carried out on the elastic foundation of the Winkler type by
considering the railway track as an Euler Bernoulli beam. The Newtonian method solves the
governing differential equation for beam on continuous elastic support and uses energy
technique for discrete elastic support[27].

Figure 5 Beam (bending stiffness EI) on elastic foundation (bed modulus k)

The model has a strong mathematical formulation with a plain and simple physical
formulation. It assumes that the rail is built as an infinite beam of Euler-Bernoulli with a
Continuous longitudinal funding from a foundation belonging to Winkler, which can be
considered as the equivalent of an infinite vertical, uncoupled and elastic longitudinal line of
springs
The governing equation for a uniform beam on Winkler foundation:

x = the length coordinate

q = the distributed load on the rail
EI = the beam bending stiffness EI (Nm)
k = the foundation stiffness (N/m per meter of rail).

13
By introducing a parameter b (unit L-1)

The solution of the governing equation can be written as

C1,C2, C3 and C4 are constants of integration, which are determined by B.C. When w(x) is
known, V, M, θ, s, etc can be calculated by the relevant formulas. For the convenience, the
following symbols are defined

[28]

Beam (rail) on discrete supports

ASSUMPTIONS
A. Castiglione’s theorem is restricted to small displacement.

B. Every plane cross-section of each member of a structure before deformation remains plane
after deformation.

In this model the supports could either be discrete spring-damper systems or spring-masss
pring systems, modeling railpads, sleepers and ballast bed.

Figure 6 Beam on discrete elastic support [23]

14
3. Methodology
3.1 Review related literatures and data collection

In conducting this research, entitled investigation Investigation of Performance of Prestressed

Concrete Sleepers under Static and Dynamic Loading on Elastic Support different methods
will be used by reviewing different related acknowledge publications in order to discover and
to understand well the problem.

The design parameters and input data will be identified and conduct from Addis Aba Light Rail
Transit (AALRT) as some input data; and from different international standards and codes like
UIC, AREMA, and Chinese Standards.

For relevant information that will be not available to be used due to insufficient of the required
materials assumptions and some data from related researches will be used in order to achieve
the goals of this research.

3.2 Numerical Model

In this research three-dimensional finite element, modelling using ABAQUS software will be
used to design and analyse the behaviour of prestressed concrete sleeper performance under
static and dynamic loading considering ballast as elastic support.

15
 Table 2 Modelling material properties

3.3 Research expected outcomes

This study will be conducted by using numerical analysis in order to get:

i. Bending stresses for sleepers

ii. Vertical stresses in the track structure under full and partially elastically support
iii. Vertical Deflections at rail seat
iv. Deformations of concrete sleepers under different stresses

16
 4. Work Plan

4.1 Thesis Schedule

2020 2021
Novemb Decembe June July
January February March April
er r May
Activity
week weeks Weeks Weeks
Weeks Weeks Weeks weeks Weeks s
3 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 4 1
Research
proposal
writing and
defense
Literature
Review
Data
collection
Mathematic
al model
Simulation
and
Interpretatio
n of results
Document
preparation
Report
preparation
Final report
Submission
Preparation
of power
point and
defense

17
 4.2 Budget

S/N Activities Item description Function Quantity U.C(USD) T.C (USD)

1 Data Technician conducting field test 3 times 20 60

collection
Safety clothes Safety 2 items 35 70

Lunches Lunch 3 times 10 30

Transport Moving As 100 100

required

2 Simulatio ABAQUS Software Computing the results 1 3,350 3,350

n and (perpetual license )
analysis

Anti-viruses Protection 1 50 50

Data storage Hard disc Storage 1 100 100

devices
Flash Storage 2 20 40

3 Printer Printing the progress report Discussion with 1 item 200 200
canon and final thesis supervisor

4 Air time Internet and call 8 months 20 160

5 scanning proposal and final thesis 1 70 70

6 binding Proposal and final thesis 1 150 150

8 camera Take pictures During data collection 1items 600 600

Total 4,980

18
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