Dynamic behavior and stability of soil foundation in heavy haul railway tracks: A review

The roadbed is the most deformable and most heterogeneous component of the railway track infrastructure, which state is the main factor determining the efficiency of the road, and the main cause of premature degradation of the path and the failure of its components, increasing the cost of current maintenance. In the face of the increasing dynamic impact of trains on the railway infrastructure resulting from intensive development of heavy haul transportation, this problem becomes particularly important. In this paper, an analysis is made of the problem of degradation and providing the stability of the track foundation with an increased axial load on the track, with a special emphasis on analysis of the excitation mechanisms of cyclic impacts and the process of their damping by the soil environment. The main types of deformations and defects are described; the mechanisms and reasons for their occurrence are analyzed. Much attention is paid to the analysis of soil degradation processes of the roadbed under the dynamic impact of heavy trains. Various elements of the roadbed are considered, which require reinforcement for operation under heavy haul traffic and large axial loads. The modern methods and structures of reinforcing the roadbed are described, the use of which allows to increase the efficiency of the heavy haul transportation. In conclusion, the authors identified areas of additional research to address the problem of ensuring the stability of the roadbed in the organization of heavy haul traffic. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.