Freeze-thaw damage is a typical distress incurred in road and railway engineering in cold regions. Concrete waterproofing layer is commonly used in high-speed railway tracks to prevent the penetration of surface water, however, it cracks easily under thermal stress, especially in cold regions. Recently solutions have been proposed to increase the waterproofing layer’s cracking resistance by using asphalt layers. Nonetheless, the use of emulsified asphalt as well as dense-graded asphalt mixture were not effective enough. To improve the effectiveness, in this study, mastic asphalt was designed for application as the waterproofing layer on the subgrade surface of high-speed railway tracks in cold regions. The overall performance of mastic asphalt was preliminarily evaluated by laboratory tests, then a 200-m test section was constructed for field validation in northeastern China as part of a new high-speed railway line, and water content sensors were placed inside the subgrade to monitor the performance of the mastic asphalt waterproofing layer (MAWL). The subsequent field investigation and monitoring data during the two years operation showed that MAWL dramatically outperformed the conventional concrete waterproofing layer in terms of waterproof performance. Plenty of serious cracks were found in the conventional concrete waterproofing layer, but only a limited number of local cracks were observed in MAWL. As a result, MAWL keeps the water content of subgrade at a stable level. In addition, MAWL showed relatively high stability during the two years investigation period, and no obvious deterioration was observed in the test section.

In this study, a new type of composite modified bitumen was developed by blending styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and crumb rubber (CR) with a chemical method to satisfy the durability requirements of waterproofing material in the waterproofing layer of high-speed railway subgrade. A pressure-aging-vessel test for 20, 40 and 80 h were conducted to obtain bitumen samples in different long-term aging conditions. Multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) tests, linear amplitude scanning tests and bending beam rheometer tests were conducted on three kinds of asphalt binders (SBS modified asphalt, CR modified asphalt and SBS/CR composite modified asphalt) after different long-term aging processes, including high temperature permanent deformation performance, resistance to low temperature thermal and fatigue crack. Meanwhile, aging sensitivities were compared by different rheological indices. Results showed that SBS/CR composite modified asphalt possessed the best properties before and after aging. The elastic property of CR in SBS/CR composite modified asphalt improved the ability to resist low temperature thermal and fatigue cracks at a range of low and middle temperatures. Simultaneously, the copolymer network of SBS and CR significantly improved the elastic response of the asphalt SBS/CR modified asphalt at a range of high temperatures. Furthermore, all test results indicated that the SBS/CR modified asphalt possesses the outstanding ability to anti-aging. SBS/CR is an ideal kind of asphalt to satisfy the demand of 60 years of service life in the subgrade of high speed railway.

The interfacial bond between cement concrete base plate (CCBP) and asphalt concrete waterproofing layer (ACWL) is a weak portion in the newly developed Chinese high-speed railway ballastless track. The interface damage caused due to fluctuating temperature load and dynamic train load is one of the most critical problems in Northern China. This paper aims to investigate the interface damage evolution process under temperature load via experimental and simulation analysis. Full-scale transverse shear tests were performed to explore the interface bond-slip mode of the adjacent ACWL and CCBP. Then, a finite element model of a ballastless track structure was built and a cohesive zone model (CZM) was utilized to model the interface damage initiation, crack propagation, and delamination process under uniform/gradient temperature load. Furthermore, the dynamic response of the ballastless track where CCBP and ACWL were partly/totally debonded was investigated and compared with the perfectly bonded structure. The results demonstrate that bilinear CZM is capable of revealing the interface damage initiation, crack propagation, and delamination process under temperature load. The interface state between the adjacent CCBP and ACWL was greatly affected by temperature changes and the interface bonding state had a great impact on the dynamic response of ballastless track.

In the last decade, the design and construction technologies of subgrade in high-speed railway developed significantly. This paper reviewed corresponding development in five aspects, including mechanical properties of fill materials, dynamic performance of subgrade, foundation treatment, retaining structure and smart construction technologies. It showed that for unbonded granular materials, it was acceptable to use static strength for subgrade design, but for clayey soil it would be more appropriate to base on shakedown theory. The mechanism for lime modified clay has been thoroughly reviewed, and the effect of lime content, curing age, and curing conditions on the behavior of lime-treated clay was discussed. The dynamic response of subgrade, especially the long-term deformation and dynamic stability analysis were important to understanding the behavior of high-speed railway subgrade. The effect of track types, operation speed etc. on the dynamic response of subgrade were reviewed first. Then, the prediction methods, influencing factors, and corresponding issue for long-term deformation of subgrade were presented, following by the methods used for dynamic stability analysis. Three types of foundation treatment methods, including geosynthetic-reinforced pile-supported embankment, pile-raft structure, and pile-plate structure, were reviewed for the corresponding load transmission mechanism, and application scenario. The static and dynamic behavior of four types of retaining structures were presented, including cantilever retaining wall, geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining wall, anchored retaining structure, and retaining wall reinforced by soil nailing. Finally, a series of new technologies correlated to smart construction was introduced, relating to the survey, design, construction, detection and management of subgrade.

Rail fasteners are among the key components of ballasted track of high-speed railway due to their functionality of fixing rails to sleepers. The failure of rail fastening system hinders the transmission of train loads to underlying track substructure and therefore endangers the operation safety and longevity of ballasted track. This paper first established a three-dimensional (3D) numerical model of the train-ballasted track-subgrade coupling system by integrating multibody dynamics (MBD) and finite element method (FEM). Numerical simulations were then performed to investigate the effects of different patterns of rail fastener failure (i.e., consecutive single-side, alternate single-side, and consecutive double-side) on critical dynamic responses of track structures, train running stability, and operation safety. The results show that the resulting influences of different patterns of rail fastener failure descend in the order of consecutive double-side failure, consecutive single-side failure, and alternate single-side failure. As the number of failed fasteners increases, the range where dynamic responses of track structures are influenced extends, and the failure of two consecutive single-side fasteners exerts a similar influence as that of four alternate single-side fasteners. The failure of single-side fasteners affects dynamic responses of the intact side of track structures relatively insignificantly. The influence of rail fastener failure on track structures exhibits hysteresis, thus indicating that special attention needs to be paid to locations behind failed fasteners during track inspection and maintenance. The occurrence of the failure of two or more consecutive fasteners demands timely maintenance work in order to prevent aggravated deterioration of track structures. The findings of this study could provide useful reference and guidance to smart track condition assessment and condition-based track maintenance.

The application of asphalt concrete waterproofing layer (ACWL) for the subgrade has been a trend in Chinese high-speed railway. The purpose of this research is to discuss the dynamic characteristics of full cross-section ACWL in the ballastless track structure under the train loads. The laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the asphalt mixtures for the ACWL and a test section of ACWL was constructed on the high-speed railway in north China. The linear viscoelastic behavior of the asphalt concrete obtained from the test section was characterized by the generalized Maxwell model according to the results of dynamic modulus test. Then a 3D finite element model for the interaction system of vehicle and ballastless track structure was presented and validated by field measured data. The results indicated that the tensile strain at the bottom of the ACWL was at a relatively low level and the vertical dynamic responses of each structural layer are obviously reduced due to the application of ACWL. Therefore, the full cross-section ACWL helps to reduce the vibration of the track structure and maintain the long-term stability of the subgrade.