Experimental Investigation of Water and Mud Pumping Due to Railroad Foundation Loading

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanics of water and mud pumping in rail structures. From the conservation of mass model, it can be said that the volume of the railroad foundation will decrease under loading due to a decrease in void volume. A simple experiment was created to validate the mechanical assumption which determines the loading on the aggregate and associated settlement and water rise. The goal is to find a relation between the loading, settlement and water rise and develop a general one-dimensional model to predict the water level rise and compare it to experimental results. Additionally, the effects of cyclic loading on water and mud pumping were explored with and without fouling where fouling is defined as to be the result of voids filling with relatively finer material such as sand, soil, mud, or crushed ballast. The information gathered during this experiment will be used to help predict rail buckling in conjunction with research underway within the Texas A&M University Center for Railway Research.