2009 Volume 24 Pages 151-156
In order to reduce deformation of ballasted tracks during large earthquakes, a new method to reinforce ballasted tracks with stacked geosynthetic bags that are filled with ballast was proposed. In this study, some performance tests of geosynthetic bags for railroad ballast are conducted. In triaxial test, geosynthetic bags filled with ballast revealed higher strength than ballast with no bag. In cut strength test that simulate real construction process, bags made of polyethylene revealed good performance. Its combination with polyarylate that is one of high strength fibers improved the performance further. In ultraviolet ray resistance test, geosynthetic bags made of polyethylene and polyarylate revealed less than 60% loss of pull strength at 5000h irradiation of super xenon weather meter that was equivalent to 10 year irradiation of sunlight, and the residual strength was high enough to satisfy the required value.
