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Review
. 2020 Dec 31;14(1):169.
doi: 10.3390/ma14010169.

A Review of Different Aspects of Applying Asphalt and Bituminous Mixes under a Railway Track

Kazem Jadidi  1 , Morteza Esmaeili  2 , Mehdi Kalantari  3 , Mehdi Khalili  4 , Moses Karakouzian  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Different Aspects of Applying Asphalt and Bituminous Mixes under a Railway Track

Kazem Jadidi et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Asphalt is a common material that is used extensively for roadways. Furthermore, bituminous mixes have been used in railways, both as asphalt and as mortar. Different agencies and research institutes have investigated and suggested various applications. These studies indicate the benefits of bituminous material under railways, such as improving a substructure's stiffness and bearing capacity; enhancing its dynamic characteristics and response, especially under high-speed train loads; waterproofing the subgrade; protecting the top layers against fine contamination. These potential applications can improve the overall track structure performance and lead to minimizing settlement under heavy loads. They can also guarantee an appropriate response under high-speed loads, especially in comparison to a rigid slab track. This review paper documents the literature related to the utilization of asphalt and bituminous mixes in railway tracks. This paper presents a critical review of the research in the application of asphalt and bituminous mixes in railway tracks. Additionally, this paper reviews the design and construction recommendations and procedures for asphalt and bituminous mixes in railway tracks as practiced in different countries. This paper also provides case studies of projects where asphalt and bituminous mixes have been utilized in railway tracks. It is anticipated that this review paper will facilitate (1) the exchange of ideas and innovations in the area of the design and construction of railway tracks and (2) the development of unified standards for the design and construction of railway tracks with asphalt and bituminous mixtures.

Keywords: asphalt; asphalt concrete; bitumen; mortar; overlay; railway; slab track; underlay.

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Conflict of interest statement

This article does not have any conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic of a light rail with an asphalt track bed (With permission from RAIL.ONE) [142].
Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of combinations of asphalt layers in a ballasted track bed: (a) asphalt as a sub-ballast and (b) asphalt between the ballast and the sub-ballast.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic of combinations of ballastless layers in a track bed: (a) asphalt slab track and (b) asphalt between concrete slab and subgrade.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Getrac ballastless system with an asphalt layer (with permission from RAIL.ONE) [27].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cement Asphalt (CA) mortar under a slab track (with permission from American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)) [33].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Michas G. Master’s Thesis. Department of Transport Science, Royal Institute of Technology; Stockholm, Sweden: 2012. Slab Track Systems for High-Speed Railways. TSC-MT 12-005.
    1. Rose J.G., Teixeira P.F., Ridgway N.E. Utilization of Asphalt/Bituminous Layers Coatings in Railway Track beds—A Compendium of International Applications; Proceedings of the 2010 Joint Rail Conference JCR2010; Urbana, IL, USA. 27–29 April 2010.
    1. Roberts F.L., Kandhal P.S., Brown E.R., Lee D.Y., Kennedy T.W. Hot Mix Asphalt Materials, Mixture Design and Construction. National Asphalt Pavement Association Research and Education Foundation; Lanham, MD, USA: 1991.
    1. European Asphalt Pavement Association Asphalt in Railway Track. [(accessed on 29 December 2020)];2014 Retrieved from EAPA. Available online: https://eapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2014.pdf.

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